The racing industry in Florida - the outlook’s getting brighter in the sunshine state

The dark cloud of bad economic news the last couple of years hit Florida Thoroughbred racing like a hurricane. However, the people in the Sunshine State are resilient to storms, and they know that hurricanes don’t last long. Most people in Florida have put the damage in the past to focus on how bright and sunny Florida really is.

By K.T. Donovan

First Published: (02 February 2011 - Issue Number: Issue 19)

Texas - at the crossroads

It wasn’t that long ago, 1987 in fact, after the Texas legislature passed The Racing Act, that some pressbox wag in Louisiana said: “Last horseman out, turn off the lights.” That was the expectation in those days: that horses and horsemen from around the country would flock to Texas once the state allowed pari-mutuel racing. Texas, after all, was widely considered to be horse racing’s “promised land.”

By Gary West

First Published (02 February 2011 - Issue Number: Issue 19)