February 17, 2012 Often you will hear those proponents of banning Lasix state something to the effect that, “Before we started permitting Lasix on race day our horses were making an average of over 9 starts per year, and now they barely average 6 starts.” This is true. In the mid-1970s when Lasix began...Read More
February 17, 2012 In 1972, European authorities began their Pattern race system whereby the highest quality black-type events were identified. The Europeans wanted something similar done in North America so the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, TOBA, took on the grading of races in 1973. In 1981, international auction houses, national breeders’ organizations and...Read More
December 13, 2011 While the State of Florida grapples with a $2 billion budget deficit, one of its top regulatory agencies is simultaneously expending untold taxpayer funds to escalate and exacerbate a costly legal battle to defend the expansion of gambling, to which Florida’s top-ranking state legislators have repeatedly voiced their increasing opposition during...Read More
Carlos E. Medina, Ocala Star Banner November 21, 2011 In a small North Florida town of fewer than 2,000 people, a firestorm is brewing over the future of Florida horse racing and the hundreds of millions of dollars it generates annually. In mid-October, the Florida Division of Pari-mutuel Wagering granted a license to...Read More
November 21, 2011 “The Quarter Horse crowd claims that lowly barrel racing is just a cheaper vehicle for Gretna Racing to qualify for poker rooms and slot machines. Of course, the Thoroughbred folks said the same thing about Quarter Horse tracks. They’re both right. Gambling conglomerates, if they could get slots and card rooms and table...Read More
By Kent H. Stirling November 21, 2011 Only Florida could permit something like this to legally take place. But I live in Florida and we are on the verge of having our first pari-mutuel barrel racing facility in the town of Gretna in northern Florida, and so far it is completely legal according to...Read More
November 21, 2011 Bill Kaplan kept Calder’s winning streak alive in Breeder’s Cup races with the impressive performance turned in by Musical Romance in the Filly and Mare Sprint. Last year trainers Stan Gold and David Fawkes each won Breeders’ Cup races with Awesome Feather and Big Drama respectively. This year neither trainer fared...Read More
By Eric Mitchell, The Blood-Horse November 1, 2011 The state of Florida is either on the cutting edge of the pari-mutuel sports industry or being manipulated to fatten the pockets of a few creative investors. Last month, the Florida Department of Pari-Mutuel Wagering gave approval for a company called Gretna Racing LLC to...Read More
August 16, 2011 By Kent H. Stirling, FHBPA Executive Director This year’s renewal of the Summit of Speed came within a neck of being yet another Calder sweep of the four Graded Stakes as was accomplished last year. This good fortune for Calder horsemen was on top of recent overnight purse increases of 7...Read More
August 16, 2011 In mid July, Sammy Gordon who had been an FHBPA board member for eleven years, the last six and a half as President, tendered his resignation. Sam was a graduate of the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and is currently the CEO of West Indies Tropical Sales Company. He was the...Read More
