Gulfstream Lands Year-Round Simulcast Rights; Calder Appeals
May 8th, 2013
by Ray Paulick
As Gulfstream Park and Calder racetrack get closer to their South Florida showdown, the state’s Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering has given the green light for Gulfstream to run one day, June 25, allowing the Stronach Group track the right to benefit from simulcast wagering year-round.
In recent years, Calder owned simulcast rights from the time the Gulfstream Park winter-spring meet closed in April until Gulfstream reopened in December. According to statute, any wagering outlet in Florida wanting to simulcast Thoroughbred racing had to purchase the signal through the track operating a live meeting, which meant Calder benefited financially from the Triple Crown races, Breeders’ Cup, and premier summer meetings at Saratoga, Del Mar and Monmouth Park.
This year, by operating one day in late June and technically continuing their winter-spring meets (near the end of Florida’s fiscal year ending June 30), both Gulfstream Park and Tampa Bay Downs can bypass Calder, importing signals directly from out-of-state host tracks and re-selling them to other Florida pari-mutuel outlets, including dog tracks and jai-alai frontons.
Calder has challenged the move, filing an appeal with the Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering.
