Frank Stronach, who purchased Gulfstream Park in 1999 and later co-founded The Stronach Group with his daughter Belinda, has written an opinion piece coming out against her intentions to decouple Gulfstream's casino business from live horse racing, as a controversial bill working its way through the Florida legislature would allow.
Stronach, 92, walked away from the racetrack owning and operating company under the terms of a settlement he and Belinda reached in 2020. That agreement came four years after Belinda succeeded her father as president and CEO of The Stronach Group and two years after Frank Stronach sued Belinda for alleged mismanagement of assets and funds.
Belinda filed a countersuit against her father in 2019. A 2020 settlement gave Belinda full control of The Stronach Group's racetrack operations, real estate, and related assets, while Frank Stronach received Stronach Stables' racing operation and the associated Adena Springs breeding operations, along with other entities.
Stronach's opinion piece appeared in the South Florida Sun Sentinel March 11. He wrote about the 110-foot statue of Pegasus defeating a dragon at Gulfstream's entrance and how that statue signified his reverence for horses. Stronach said his opposition to decoupling comes from his love for the industry, respect for the men and women in the sport, and a deep concern for what this legislation would mean for the future of horse racing in the state and beyond.
"I feel compelled to encourage the Florida Legislature not to pass the legislation that would jeopardize the future of horse racing in Florida," Stronach wrote. "The legislation—Senate Bill 408 and House Bill 105—would remove the requirement for horse tracks to run live racing to offer other gambling ...
"To put it simply, it would end horse racing in Florida. This would not only be felt by the patrons in Florida who have long enjoyed the sport of horse racing, but it would unequivocally upend the industry, taking away tens of thousands of job and billions of dollars in economic impact."
Stronach wrote that he respects his former colleagues at Gulfstream Park and "the business interests" that have led to the push for decoupling, but he would say to them, "this endeavor is not right."
The decoupling legislation passed the Industries and Professional Activities Subcommittee of the State House of Representatives Feb. 5 and could proceed to the full Florida House of Representatives next.
A South Florida horsemen's group initially signed off on the decoupling deal but has since changed course as the industry processed the implications of decoupling and galvanized against the move.
