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Former Kentucky Senate Leader Thayer to Advise Group
PRESS RELEASE
OCALA, FL—The Thoroughbred Racing Initiative—an industry collaboration created to fight for live horse racing in Florida and elsewhere in the United States — officially launched today.
The TRI’s immediate mission is to bring the Thoroughbred industry together to provide funding and other resources to defeat anti-racing and breeding legislation in the Florida House of Representatives (HB 105) and Senate (SB 408). Those bills would allow Gulfstream Park to keep its gaming licenses without the current mandate that it also conduct live racing. HB 105 was amended to let Tampa Bay Downs maintain its card club without live racing, although the 99-year-old Oldsmar track issued a statement stressing its commitment to horse racing and saying it did not initiate the bill amendment.
“Thoroughbred racing in Florida is under attack,” said TRI president David O’Farrell, general manager of his family’s Ocala Stud. “The bills filed in the Florida legislature threaten the future of live racing, breeding and our 33,500 jobs and $3.24 billion economic impact. This isn’t just a Florida issue; the ripple effects will impact racing and breeding nationwide. For decades, Florida legislators have protected the Thoroughbred industry, but this bill prioritizes corporate interests over horsemen, breeders and our industry’s huge agri-business and tourism contributions. We must take a stand now to ensure Thoroughbred racing has a future.”
The TRI is the brainchild of O’Farrell, TRI vice president and prominent owner-breeder Jon Green of DJ Stable and trainer Mark Casse, a member of both the North American and Canadian racing halls of fame. Dr. Barry Eisaman, a veterinarian who with wife Shari operate the full-service farm Eisaman Equine in Williston, also is a founding member.
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