SENATE SEEKS TO CLARIFY LAW ON BARREL RACING GAMBLING

By JIM SAUNDERS
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE -- With Florida's gambling industry in flux, an influential senator this week filed a bill that would block barrel racing at pari-mutuel facilities and repeal a law allowing some new jai-alai operations.

Regulated Industries Chairman Dennis Jones, a Seminole Republican who has long been a key lawmaker on gambling issues, offered the proposal (SB 1376) amid wide-ranging questions about whether loopholes in state laws are leading to expanded gambling.

Gov. Rick Scott said last week that lawmakers need to make clear whether the state allows such things as betting on rodeo-style barrel racing. A new pari-mutuel facility in the Gadsden County community of Gretna recently began offering barrel racing, a move that also allows the facility to operate a card room.

"I think the Legislature ought to make sure it is absolutely clear whether we want barrel racing ... or not,'' Scott said during an interview.

Jones' bill offers a detailed definition of horse racing, specifying in part that it must be on a track that "does not require a horse to change its course in response to any obstacles on the racing surface." The definition goes on to say that horse racing does not include "steeplechases, hurdle races, barrel racing … or any other rodeo or gymkhana-style events."

Gymkhana is timed obstacle racing on horseback, according to the website of the Florida Gymkhana Association.

Jones' bill, however, could face a fight from backers of the Gadsden County facility, Creek Entertainment Gretna. Wesley Cox, executive director of the North Florida Horsemen's Association, said through a spokeswoman Wednesday that the facility boosts economic development.

"We definitely see (the bill) as a threat to the barrel racing that is happening at Gretna" and racing that could happen elsewhere in the state in the future, said Cox, whose association represents barrel racers.

Jones' proposal comes amid a broader debate about the future of gambling in Florida, with lawmakers considering controversial bills that would allow up to three resort casinos in the state. Also, it comes amid legal fights about barrel racing and the proposed use of what are known as "summer" jai-alai permits to add pari-mutuel operations in South Florida.

Two quarter-horse associations are challenging a state Department of Business and Professional Regulation approval of racing at the Gretna facility, saying that recognizing barrel racing "would represent the establishment of an entirely new category of pari-mutuel wagering" and dramatically change the interpretation of legally allowed quarter-horse racing.

But in a document filed in the Division of Administrative Hearings case, the department said it had made "no statement regarding the propriety or non-propriety of barrel racing" at Gretna. It said state laws involved in issuing a license to Gretna did not specify the type of race, but only referred to "performances" that would be conducted at the facility.

Supporters of the Gretna facility contend that current law clearly allows barrel racing. At least one other pari-mutuel facility, Hamilton Downs in North Florida, has submitted a license application to the state indicating it wanted to offer barrel racing. That application is pending.

Jones' Pinellas County office was closed Wednesday, and he could not be reached for comment. The bill, if passed during the upcoming legislative session, would take effect July 1.

The bill also would repeal an obscure "summer" jai-alai law that could lead to new pari-mutuel operations in South Florida. Rep. Shawn Harrison, R-Tampa, also filed a bill last week that would repeal the law.

The Department of Business and Professional Regulation used the law when it decided in October to grant a summer jai-alai permit to the owners of the Magic City Casino in Miami. Also, Everglades Jai Alai LLC proposed obtaining such a permit in Broward County.

While jai alai does not enjoy wide popularity, the permits could be valuable because they would allow the operation of card rooms and possibly slot machines. The owners of Mardi Gras Casino in Broward County filed a lawsuit this month in Leon County circuit court that, in part, challenged the constitutionality of the summer jai-alai law, which was first enacted in 1980.

Jones' bill also appears to try to clear up questions about whether local referendums can be held to allow slot machines at pari-mutuel facilities. The questions have arisen as the Gadsden County, Hamilton County and Palm Beach County commissions have approved holding such referendums in 2012.

The bill says, in part, such votes could be held if there is "specific" approval in state law or the Florida Constitution "that authorizes the county to conduct a slot machine referendum.''