Florida’s beleaguered draw rein racing manufacture is suing the state’s Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering over the new “decoupling” jurisprudence that threatens to eradicate its boast and livelihoods.

Also named in the cause is Pompano Park. That’s Florida’s only living tackle racetrack, owned by Caesars Entertainment, which operates the Isle Casino there.

Thanks to a law passed past the state law-makers in May, the data track is no more thirster required to fulfill a quota of live harness racing as a experimental condition of its license to tender other, more lucrative, identity card games and gaming machines.

The same applies to pari-mutuel venues that were antecedently required to feed a quota of dog racing and jai alai matches. But, crucially, non racetracks that operate thoroughbred horseracing.

Unequal Protection

The Florida Standardbred Breeders & Owners Association (FSBOA) is the plaintiff inwards the lawsuit, seen by The Sun-Sentinel. FSBOA argues the law of nature violates the equal tribute clause of the US Old Ironsides because it potentially punishes harness racing patch protecting pureblood racing.

“As a resultant of the passage [of the law], the draw rein horsemen who get historically participated inward unrecorded tackle racing at Pompano Park are existence treated differently, and inward a far to a lesser extent financially favourable manner, than the likewise situated horsemen who take part inward pureblood racing at the facilities of Florida’s purebred let holders,” reads the lawsuit, as reported by The Sun-Sentinel.

It is FSBOA’s contention that no more valid reason exists for this difference in handling among horsemen performing similar, if not identical, gymnastic horse racing activities,” the lawsuit continues.

FSBOA also argues that the decoupling evaluate qualifies as an unconstitutional “special law,” because it applies only when to Pompano Mungo Park and possessor Caesars, and non the thoroughbred racetracks.

Caesars has not publically said whether it’s curtains for rein in racing at Pompano Park at the oddment of the 2022 calendar, although the expectation is that it testament be. After all, the casino goliath has shareholders to please.

Seminole Compact Voided

The decoupling measures were tied to the new Seminole compact, negotiated 'tween the tribe and Florida’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis.

The compact, worth billions to the state in revenue sharing, gave the Seminoles the scoop rights to online and retail sports betting inwards the state, as wellspring as line roulette and dice games at its heptad Hard John Rock casinos.

Decoupling, and the power to append to a greater extent gaming machines, plus sports betting inward partnership with the tribe, was thrown inward as a conceding to the pari-mutuels.

In November 2021, a federal justice nullified the full compact because it allowed the Seminoles to consent sports bets outdoors tribal dry land inwards violation of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

Yet the enabling tell legislating that accompanied it remains.

The irony is that racetracks were originally granted scorecard tables and gaming machines to help get and protect live pari-mutuel racing, breeding, and racing infrastructure. That means harness racing in Florida is likely to follow killed turned past the play expansion that was supposed to bread and butter it.