May 10th, 10
Dear FQHRA members and supporters of QH racing in Florida,
We will have a general meeting June 5th at 12 noon sharp.
AVS Equine Hospital
9085 Magnolia Hill Drive
Tallahassee, FL 32309
Dear FQHRA members and supporters of QH racing in Florida,
We will have a general meeting June 5th at 12 noon sharp.
AVS Equine Hospital
9085 Magnolia Hill Drive
Tallahassee, FL 32309
AGENDA will include but not be limited to:
1. Announce and give out awards for Champions horses, owner, trainer and
jockey of the 2009/2010 Hialeah meet.
2. Announce accredited Florida bred money award winners.
3. Discuss upcoming Hialeah meet slated for 11/26 2010 through 1/2/2011
racing on Friday/Saturday/Sunday/Monday afternoons.
4. Discuss other QH permitted tracks in Florida .
5. Discussion of the 2010 Florida legislative session.
Here is a quick summary of the 2010 Florida legislative session:
1. Tracks in Broward/Dade County received a tax break on slot revenues with
the state take out going from 50% to 35%.
2. Hialeah Park , Pompano Park and Gulfstream Park can all apply for up to
2,000 Class III slot machines. All three of these tracks have QH permits.
3. QH permitted tracks in Gadsden County, Hamilton County and Marion
County may be able to apply for up to 350 historical (instant) racing
machines and they will have 24 hour unlimited poker. The state take out
on instant racing machines is 4%.The Seminole Indian Compact leaves the
door open for these tracks to have slot machines in the future. If the tracks
with slots perform well then the other tracks will have a good shot at
getting slot machines. We hope to have a meeting with the Department of
Pari-mutuel wagering soon to clarify some points regarding these tracks.
4. Ocala Breeders Sale and FTBO&B both have QH permits that can be
utilized at OBS in Marion County . One of these permits can be converted
to a non profit TB permit. All other QH permits are non eligible for
conversion to any other type of permit.
5. All tracks must run 20 days in 2010/2011 (state physical year July 1 to
July 1), 30 days in 2011/2012 and 2012/2013 and 40 days after that. There
must be a minimum of 8 races per day with at least 50% of the races
being QH races.
6. The tracks must have an agreement for each year’s meet with FQHRA or
the group representing the majority of the horsemen at the track in order to
keep their slot/instant racing/poker licenses.
7. The Seminole Indian compact gave the Seminoles exclusive rights over
certain card and table games.
8. This puts Florida in an excellent position to grow a major breeding industry
and to have quality QH racing with ample racing opportunities for everyone.
Other Florida QH racing points of interest:
1. The purse shortage from the Hialeah meet has been collected and the
checks are close to being “in the mail”. Will Fisch and Toni Czaja have
spent countless hours tallying up the redistribution. Thank you.
2. FQHRA is the horsemen’s group that fought for and collected that money
for the Hialeah horsemen.
3. FQHRA is the horsemen’s group that will do it all again if the need arises.
4. It pays to breed and race accredited Florida breds. One owner/breeder won
over $20,000 in accredited Florida bred awards WITHOUT running in a race
with a purse over $20,000. That owner/breeder will be announced soon.
5. Support the horsemen’s group that supports you. Join FQHRA if you are
not already a member.
6. The weather is pretty nice in Florida in the fall, winter and spring. (We
won’t talk about the summer.)
A special thanks to all the horsemen from around the country that contributed to the success of our first meet. Thanks to the other state organizations that gave freely of their advise and expertise when we needed it ( and that was often!). Thanks to all the media that spread the word for us and kept the ball rolling.Thanks to all the FQHRA members and our board members for all your work and support and a very special thanks to AQHA for all their financial and knowledge support.
See you at the meeting.
