The author is a third-generation Florida horseman and general manager of Ocala Stud
For nearly 70 years, my family has poured everything into Florida’s thoroughbred racing industry — starting with my grandfather, who put Florida-bred horses on the national stage and proved that Kentucky wasn’t the only place to raise champion runners. My father carried that legacy forward, and today, as the third generation at Ocala Stud Farm, I am fighting to protect everything my family and thousands of others have built from a misguided and misrepresented proposal in the legislature.
We’ve bred and trained Kentucky Derby and graded stakes champions, helped make Ocala the Horse Capital of the World®, and turned Florida into a formidable national competitor in thoroughbred breeding and racing. But now, the legislation Florida lawmakers are considering could tear it all down by selling out our industry to out-of-state gambling interests with no loyalty to Florida’s racing tradition.
