Vaccarezza halts effort to form new horsemen's organization in South Florida

A former trainer has rolled up a fledgling effort to replace the horsemen’s organization at Gulfstream Park in favor of working with the existing group, the horsemen, Carlo Vaccarezza, said on Friday morning.

Vaccarezza, a longtime owner and breeder who recently retired from a 10-year training stint, said that the effort to create a new group would be “too lengthy” to address pressing issues in South Florida. Vaccarezza began collecting online signatures for the group just one week ago.

“We spoke with our lawyers and with some insiders in Tallahassee and the process would just take too long,” Vaccarezza said. “It’s better we work with the current group on all this stuff because we are close to having a death sentence imposed.”

The effort to create a new group grew out of dissatisfaction with the Florida Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, whose board voted late last year to endorse a plan by Gulfstream to lobby for legislation that would allow the track to operate its casino without any statutory obligation to live racing. The Florida Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association has since walked back the commitment and come out in opposition to the legislation.

The legislation passed this week out of a Florida House subcommittee. Horsemen and breeders are counting on a full-court press to kill the legislation in the hopes that Gulfstream will abandon plans to redevelop the property if its parent company, 1/ST Racing, is obligated to run live racing to operate its casino.

Nothing in current law would keep 1/ST from selling or redeveloping the property if it closed its casino. Gulfstream sits on extremely valuable land in Hallandale Beach, just north of Miami.

Vacarrezza said he has had discussions with the leadership of the FTH about adding members supportive of his goals to its board. He said that the plans may involve the resignations of some members or the expansion of the board.

"We’re hoping to join them,” Vaccarezza said. “We’re trying to reassemble the current group with quality people who can speak for themselves without being retaliated against. We need capable, willing people who are knowledgeable about all the issues so we can go to Tallahassee and fight.”

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