Vaccarezza reflects on Decoupling Battle
Victory has 1,000 fathers and the critically important recent defeat of decoupling legislation in Florida has spawned a few. However, it's important to set the record straight and for industry members to fully understand how we got here, and why the recent statement from the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders' and Owners' Association championing its role in that effort is another tone-deaf effort to avoid accountability for how misaligned FTBOA has become with the Florida Thoroughbred industry.
After the Stronach Group and the Florida Horsemen's Benevolent & Protective Association worked out a devil's bargain in the summer of 2024 to allow decoupling legislation to advance, it wasn't the FTBOA that stepped in to right the ship. It was me and other concerned horsemen, lobbying board members and raising awareness. This emergency campaign bore fruit, and the FHBPA opened its doors and ears to all Florida horsemen in an open meeting that resulted in a unanimous decision to oppose decoupling legislation despite the lack of FTBOA involvement. The organization wasn't where it should have been, standing firmly between the FHBPA and 1/ST.
With the fight only beginning and the FTBOA nowhere to be found, our group understood that the necessary work would have to come from our own efforts. I retained the services of world class Tallahassee law firm Gray Robinson P.A., and it was from that representation that the Thoroughbred Racing Initiative grew.
Staffed with and advised by Thoroughbred industry veterans such as David O'Farrell, Mark Casse, Barry Eisaman, and strong former state senator from Kentucky, Damon Thayer, this group along with others, took on the fight the FTBOA should have been leading.
Those who attempt to deride Thayer as merely "an out-of-state consultant," such as FTBOA president Valerie Dailey recently has, should reconsider such turf-protecting rhetoric and instead welcome the experience of someone who is so uniformly aligned with the Thoroughbred industry in his home state and across the nation. Political concerns involving racing, decoupling, and powerful industry players cutting deals to expand their empires are not exclusive to Florida, and it is the height of folly to dismiss the opinions and ideas of a literal long-time legislator from Florida's closest industry ally, Kentucky. Senator Thayer's record speaks for itself.
Between the public work of TRI and the tireless advocacy lead by Gray Robinson and others, decoupling legislation slowly eroded, from likely passage to ultimately just another footnote in a legislative session. The work wasn't easy—we lost as often as we won for a time—but we never wavered. We received a huge assist from Mike Repole and the National Thoroughbred Alliance team headed by Pat Cummings, who brought Gov. Ron DeSantis to the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company sale and the Kentucky Derby. Our victory over decoupling and our first-hand look at the political process were revealing in many ways, though.
Carlo Vaccarezza
Thoroughbred Owner
