OCALA, Fla.—Proposed legislation to allow gambling to continue at a major Florida facility even if horse racing is removed won’t be a finisher this year.
During this session of the Florida Legislature, the legislation affecting the state’s lucrative thoroughbred horse-racing industry initially appeared to be off to a strong start, with lawmakers in both the state House and the Senate moving their respective bills—HB 105 and SB 408—quickly toward the finish line.
The regular legislative session was extended to June 6. In May, both “decoupling” bills, as they came to be known, were “indefinitely postponed and withdrawn from consideration,” according to the bills’ respective web pages….