The Florida legislature wrapped up its 2025 session late Friday night without agreeing on any bills that would allow Gulfstream Park to decouple its racing and casino licenses, a victory for the legislation’s opponents despite the track’s uncertain future.
Legislative efforts to pass language freeing Gulfstream of its statutory obligations to live racing proceeded in fits and starts throughout the session, concluding with a House vote on the floor to pass an omnibus gambling bill including the provision. But similar legislation never reached the Senate floor, and the effort seemed to be doomed three weeks ago after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said that he opposed the effort.
Although the bills were supported by Gulfstream Park and real estate-friendly factions in both chambers, the equine industry in Florida mounted a full-press attack on the legislation, corralling dozens of constituents to testify against the language any time it came up for a vote in House or Senate committees.
“We are deeply grateful to the many breeders, owners, trainers, vets, and horsemen who traveled to Tallahassee to share their heartfelt opposition with lawmakers,” Lonny Powell, chief executive officer of the Florida Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, said in a statement released late Friday night. “Your voices had a clear impact and made a real difference.”
Before adjourning, the legislature failed to agree on a budget, so both chambers will reconvene later this spring to address the state’s spending plans. However, non-budget work was officially done Friday.
During the session, the House formally approved a bill containing language that would allow Gulfstream to cease live racing in 2030, while two Senate committees advanced bills that would have kept live racing at the track until 2032. Opponents of the bills had been confident that the effort to pass the legislation in the Senate would stall before it got to a vote on the floor, even prior to DeSantis’s announcement that he supported the equine industry.
Gulfstream’s owner, 1/ST Racing and Gaming, told horsemen over the winter that they were exploring plans to develop portions of the property or selling the track outright. Nothing in current law would prevent 1/ST from developing or selling the property, which sits on highly valuable real estate in Hallandale Beach in the Miami metro area.
Opponents of the effort contended that approval of decoupling would decimate the Thoroughbred industry, even with the five- or seven-year requirements to maintain live racing. They testified that they needed time to negotiate with 1/ST on a long-term plan to protect racing in the state before any legislative approval to separate the casino and racing licenses.
It is unclear if those talks will take place in the near-term. The legislative effort has bitterly divided 1/ST from the rest of the state’s Thoroughbred industry, and the company is expected to explore its options for development, albeit in a highly unstable economic environment. According to officials who are familiar with the track’s finances, Gulfstream operates profitably, but the property is likely far more valuable as a real-estate development project, even without the casino.
For now, the Thoroughbred industry said that it will remain open to discussions.
“We look forward to continuing our work with Florida’s leaders and stakeholders on long-term solutions that preserve and grow this vital industry for years to come,” Powell said.
Damon Thayer, a former Kentucky Senate Majority Leader who was hired as the senior adviser for a group created to combat the legislative effort, said in a statement released Saturday morning that the Florida industry will “embrace the hard work that lies ahead.”
“We know our work is just beginning,” Thayer said. “All we asked for was the opportunity to be heard, to explain what was at stake, and to get the time to formulate a comprehensive and lawful plan that is equitable to stakeholders and allows for Florida’s Thoroughbred racing and breeding industry to thrive for decades to come."
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.