Horsemen in Nebraska believe a well-crafted piece of legislation on racing and casinos in the state has provided them added safeguards in keeping the sport going in the Cornhusker State.
Crafting legislation that works for racing was just one idea discussed during a March 4 panel at the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association conference at Oaklawn Park that offered thoughts on how to protect racing operations that are tied to added-gaming. With legislative efforts to decouple Gulfstream Park racing from its casino operations continuing to be front and center in the industry, the discussion proved timely.
Lynn McNally, CEO of for the Nebraska HBPA, noted that getting things right from the start is imperative. When she helped create and promote three initiative petition measures in the state that passed in the fall of 2020, she placed an emphasis on wording that makes racetrack enclosures the only legal sites for casino gaming.
The Nebraska HBPA now owns tracks—the racing licenses and the tracks themselves—in the two largest cities in the state: Omaha and Lincoln. It also owns Horsemen's Park and Legacy Downs. For the racinos in Omaha and Lincoln (WarHorse Casinos), Ho Chunk Inc., the business arm of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, partners with the Nebraska HBPA by paying rent to operate the casinos on track property.
Beyond that, the horsemen have key protections in the way the legislation is written.
"In our agreement, if they don't want to partner with us anymore, they have to sell us the casino at fair market value. They don't have a choice," McNally said. "We're locked in."
Lonny Powell, CEO of the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders' and Owners' Association, noted the importance of having a racing license controlled by his organization as Florida lawmakers continue to consider legislation that would decouple casino owners from Thoroughbred tracks in the state. He noted that the license calls for a model that would return any profits from operations to purses and the industry.
Powell said that John Morgan, of Morgan & Morgan Law Firm and a Thoroughbred owner, has been hired to assess possible locations for an FTBOA track.
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"His assignment in the entity that was formed for this is to go out and work with the economically viable tracks," Powell said. "We won't build one that's not economically viable. We have a plan, we have some thoughts, but I hope in another year or so I get to tell you some more details about those."
Powell provided an encouraging update on decoupling legislation for this year, noting that it looks like it will not be considered by the state Senate. He said nothing is over until the session closes in a couple of weeks, but added that if there were imminent concerns he would have stayed home in Florida to oppose the bill and would have not have made the trip to Oaklawn.
Thinking a bit out of the box, National HBPA CEO Eric Hamelback said he found legislation passed at the federal level to protect tribal casinos, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988, could be replicated on some level to protect horse racing. According to the National Indian Gaming Commission, IGRA establishes a legal framework for gaming on tribal lands to promote economic development, self-sufficiency, and strong tribal governments.
"The tribes argued that gaming was vital for economic self-determination, especially when other options in the economy were weak and inaccessible. Sounds a little bit like they were protecting themselves, right?" Hamelback said. "So what I've started to do is I've looked at the possibility of, and conceivably trying to develop, an IGRA-type piece of legislation for horse racing.
"This is one of the sentences that I have: Many in the racing industry argue that horse racing needs a guaranteed statutory framework to maintain purse supplements and prevent states from stripping away live racing requirements. To me, that's a reimagining of what we need to do as horsemen to protect ourselves."
