Gulfstream adds stakes races for Florida-breds to spring, fall meets
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Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla., plans to add six $100,000 stakes for Florida-bred horses to its schedule this spring and will add four stakes for Florida-bred 2-year-olds in the fall, according to Tom Cannell, the president of the Florida Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association.
The purses for the additional stakes will be funded by a portion of a $5 million state grant that was redirected to Gulfstream Park by the state legislature last year. The money had previously gone to the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners Association, which had used the funding for promotions, purse supplements, breeder awards, and a series of stakes races for 2-year-olds called the Florida Stallion Stakes series. Those stakes were scuttled earlier this year.
The six $100,000 stakes will be run on April 25, according to Cannell, and will offer a variety of conditions. The fall 2-year-old stakes will be run in September and October, with two stakes races offering $150,000 going seven furlongs and two offering $250,000 going one mile, divided by gender.
Gulfstream and the Florida HBPA have also earmarked an additional $750,000 in purse supplements or stakes races for Florida-breds throughout the meet, but the two sides have not decided exactly how the money will be distributed, Cannell said.
“We’re trying to make sure Florida-breds get some prominence,” Cannell said.
The relationship between the FTBOA and Gulfstream has been strained by the two groups taking opposing sides in legislation sought by the track’s parent company that would allow Gulfstream to decouple its racing and casino licenses. The legislation has failed to pass in two consecutive legislation sessions.
The FHBPA recently signed a contract with Gulfstream that guarantees 180 days of live racing in 2026, 140 days of live racing next year, and 120 days of live racing in 2028. Cannell said that the horsemen and Gulfstream have been able to patch up their relationship despite many trainers opposing the decoupling effort.
“I know we’ve got some hard feelings down here on decoupling, but since we got the live-racing agreement, Gulfstream has been pretty open to working with us,” Cannell said.