Owner Carlo Vaccarezza has established a horsemen’s organization because he is unhappy with the state of racing in Florida and its prospects in light of track operator 1/ST Racing’s intention to separate Thoroughbred racing from its Gulfstream Park casino. In addition to contesting any move from 1/ST Racing that he believes endangers racing in South Florida, he plans to have the organization formally represent horsemen in the area, taking the place of the Florida Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association. Vaccarezza stated that a board of directors and an executive director would be revealed early next week. The South Florida Horsemen’s Benevolent & Protective Association, as this group calls itself, opened its website on January 30 and asked members to “serve as your exclusive and exclusive representative to negotiate and execute, or refuse to execute, any agreements with the Thoroughbred racetracks in the State of Florida concerning the racing of Thoroughbred horses.”
It’s unclear if the new group will be able to keep that name. According to Eric Hamelback, CEO of the National HBPA, it is not currently an associate of the National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association and would have to fulfill a number of requirements in order to do so. Additionally, they would have to be able to demonstrate that it represents the vast majority of the thousands of riders in the area in order to represent them in agreements with tracks. According to Hamelback, Vaccarezza and the National HBPA have a similar interest in the need for continuous racing in South Florida, and “I’ve tried to help him. ” But in terms of becoming an affiliate and using the HBPA name, they “have not ticked any of the boxes other than signing something that said that they would supply everything when it was available.”
Both organizations intend to combat decoupling, a factor in the decline of Florida’s greyhound and Standardbred racing industries. Instead, those operators may concentrate on operating casinos. According to Hamelback, on February 5, a subcommittee meeting to consider decoupling would be held in the state capital of Tallahassee, with lobbyists from the Tampa Bay HBPA and the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association in attendance. Vaccarezza stated on Thursday that there will be a “huge void” felt across the nation as a result of Florida’s loss of Thoroughbred racing. Vaccarezza, a former trainer and successful restaurateur, was upset about the FTHA’s first approach to decoupling and what he called 1/ST Racing management’ conflicting statements.
Following Keith Brackpool’s threat-of-closure remarks on behalf of 1/ST Racing, the FTHA’s board declared on January 24 that it will “reassess” its agreement with 1/ST Racing, despite having previously voted in favor of the decoupling plan. The FTHA further stated that they will closely monitor any legislation or other actions that would jeopardize long-term racing in Florida and perform a thorough examination of all options for sustaining racing in South Florida. Vaccarezza, 73, thinks the new organization can better represent horsemen when interacting with 1/ST Racing. He stated that he merely wants to be a member in order to support the sport for younger people, including his trainer son Nick, and does not want a leadership role in the new horsemen’s organization. Regarding his age group, “We’re on borrowed time; we’re at the eighth pole,” he said, referring to a point one furlong before the finish. “The problem is, what is going to happen with this game? This is a beautiful game, and we have to face it—the people at (the FTHA) have shown they’re incapable of doing the job.”
