The Florida Legislature's battles over expanded gambling in the state are spreading into new ground: barrel racing on cloverleaf patterns in Gadsden County, which supporters hope will open the door to lucrative slot machine business in the rural North Florida area.
Under a bill now before the state Senate, SB1376, sponsored by Sen. Dennis Jones, R-Seminole, cloverleaf barrel racing would be not be permitted. Instead, quarter horse racing will be required to be conducted on a straight path on a traditional oval or straight track.
The races would require a starting box, jockeys, be electronically timed and conducted over a flat, obstacle-free oval track of at least half a mile with horses registered by the America Quarter Horse Association.
Horse racing does not include steeplechases, hurdle races, barrel racing, timed events, pole bending, or any other rodeo or gymkhana-style events, the bill states.
Since Dec. 1, the Poarch Band Creek Indians have offered head-to-head quarter horse barrel racing at their $20 million pari-mutuel in Gretna.The race pits two riders at a time against each other in neighboring fields, running horses in a cloverleaf fashion around three barrels.
The races were set up as a means to allow the county to hold a referendum asking voters to approve more lucrative slot machines alongside the recently opened poker room.
The Florida Quarter Horse Racing Association and the Florida Quarter Horse Breeders and Owners Association are contesting the state license to allow barrel racing.
Hamilton County Downs, off Interstate 75 near the Georgia state line, has since filed a similar application to the state to offer barrel racing as a wagering activity.
Jones bill is considered related to HB 4173 that Rep. Shawn Harrison, R-Tampa, introduced on Dec. 21.
Harrisons bill focuses on repealing a law that allows for summer jai alai permits in South Florida, an item that Jones also seeks in his bill.
The barrel racing battles join a fight mainly focused on South Florida on a proposal to allow three mega-casinos -- or destination gaming resorts -- in Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties. The two bills to allow the casinos, sponsored by Ellyn Bogdanoff, R-Fort Lauderdale, and Erek Fresen, R-Miami, have drawn supporters from the key business group Associated Industries of Florida but opposition from the Florida Chamber of Commerce, the Seminole Tribe, and numerous lawmakers.
Their fate remains uncertain in a session likely to be dominated by legislative and congressional redistricting and a state budget facing a $2 billion deficit.
Jim Turner can be reached at jturner@sunshinestatenews.com, (850) 727-0859 or (772) 215-9889.
