FTBOA Offering Over $2.2M To Promote Royal Palm Meet

The Florida Thoroughbred Breeders' and Owners' Association (FTBOA) will devote more than $2.2 million to support the Royal Palm Meeting at Gulfstream Park over the summer months.

Of that amount, $1.4 million is earmarked for the FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes Series, $375,000 toward purse enhancements for Florida-breds and Florida Sire Stakes-eligible runners in stakes races and $250,000 in FTBOA Florida-bred Incentive Funds (FTBOA FBIF).

“Florida-breds are so important to Gulfstream Park racing and these supplements certainly will make our stakes more attractive,” Gulfstream Park vice president of racing Mike Lakow said.

The FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes for 2-year-olds by registered FTBOA Florida stallions will again highlight the Summer racing program at Gulfstream beginning with the $100,000 Dr. Fager S. and $100,000 Desert Vixen for fillies, both at six furlongs, Aug. 6. The lucrative series continues at seven furlongs Sept. 3 with the $200,000 Affirmed S. and $200,000 Susan's Girl S. for fillies before concluding at a mile-and-a-sixteenth on Oct. 1 with the $400,000 In Reality and $400,000 My Dear Girl for fillies.

“The FTBOA is once again pleased to offer numerous economic incentives in terms of either funding entire stakes purses, as is the case with our six FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes races for 2-year-olds and the new Gil Campbell Memorial, or the plethora of bonuses the FTBOA offers ranging from Florida-bred to FSS Eligible Florida-breds throughout the year of which we are offering $375,000 just for the current Royal Palm Meet alone,” FTBOA CEO Lonny Powell said.

He continued, “The FTBOA is also pleased beyond expectations by the incredible growth of the Florida Sire Stakes with a 14% increase in eligible foals compared to the prior year. This is proof as to the popularity and broad awareness of our FSS program and nationally acclaimed signature 2 year-old stakes. The FSS program is working well in terms of providing some of the very highest stakes purse schedules at each track–including the highest for the Royal Palm meet–while putting additional money into the hands of the deserving owners, trainers and breeders of our Florida-breds, which is a very good thing for the entire Florida racing and breeding industries.”

The FTBOA will also supplement 10 maiden special weight races for 2-year-old fillies eligible for the Florida Sire Stakes with a $5,000 supplement for the winners of each and 10 maiden special weight races for 2-year-olds eligible for the Florida Sire Stakes with $5,000 supplement for the winners.

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Lawmakers Discuss Adding KTDF Money to Claiming Races

In a meeting in Frankfort Friday, the Pari Mutuel Wagering Taxation Task Force, led by State Senator and majority floor leader Damon Thayer, outlined the advantages of allowing Kentucky-breds in claiming races to receive purse supplements.

Claiming races currently are not eligible to have Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund (KTDF) supplements added to their purses.

“You need claiming horses in order to provide the opportunities for allowance and stakes horses,” said Rick Hiles, president of the Kentucky Horsemen's Benevolent & Protective Association (KHBPA). “It's time to acknowledge their important role and to let all horses born in the state and sired by a stallion in the Commonwealth benefit from being a Kentucky-bred.”

In Kentucky, claiming races make up about half of the races but account for only 17% of total purses. The KTDF supplements, which often comprise 25 to 50% of a non-claiming race, are paid out only to registered Kentucky-breds. Those are horses born in the commonwealth and sired by a Kentucky stallion.

Thayer explained the best way to implement the policy was through legislation enabling the expansion, but the KHRC and KTDF advisory committee would oversee the parameters.

The Kentucky HBPA projects that KTDF on claiming races would add between $5 million-$10 million a year to those purses, if applied at the approximate percentages of other races. Claiming horses also provide a stream of revenue to the state's General Fund via the six% state sales tax applied every time a horse is claimed. Through Nov. 13, a total of 923 horses had been claimed in Kentucky for a total of $22,400,500 with 27 days of racing left in the 2021. That accounts for $1,362,030 in sales tax.

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