For the future of Thoroughbred racing, in Florida and across America, horsemen must work together and independently from racing operators and permit holders.
The first nail in the coffin of horse racing nationwide has now been driven into the heart of Florida's Thoroughbred industry as a legislative committee voted Feb. 5 to allow Florida's Thoroughbred racing permit holders (Gulfstream Park and Tampa Bay Downs) to keep their respective casino and card room licenses without requiring them to offer live horse racing.
This effort, known as "decoupling," is a move designed to destroy the horse racing industry in Florida and is almost assuredly going to be pursued across the country too.
Florida House Bill 105 threatens horsemen's businesses, the jobs they create, and the many agricultural enterprises that support them.
But how did we get there?
Why haven't we heard from Florida horsemen until now?
Despite published reports that horsemen met with track management in the summer of 2024, details were only made public in January 2025 when an unthinkable statement was released by 1/ST which seemed to indicate local horsemen supported these decoupling efforts. If I was sentenced to death by hanging, such an act by the horsemen would be like asking me to go pick out the rope and kick out the stool myself. No thanks.
After learning of this, I initiated the formation of a new horsemen's group to address this and other urgent issues. In recent days, I received assurances that the Florida Thoroughbred Horsemen are, in fact, committed to righting past wrongs and unanimously opposing decoupling.
I am willing to work with them to reassemble a board which is ready to fight for those that cannot fight for themselves and to speak for those that have no voice.
That's why I'm tabling the formation of the new horsemen's group, since I am confident the new FTH leadership is now prepared to act quickly to protect horsemen's rights and stop decoupling.
I salute this position and look forward to helping this group. Together we can do it.
It's time to put all our differences and egos aside. Our only goal must be to defeat decoupling.
Thus, we must act immediately in order to stop decoupling from becoming a reality—which could happen in as little as a few weeks. We must think about the future generation of young people who have passion and love horse racing.
Carlo E. Vaccarezza
Thoroughbred owner
