Florida Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association

04/08/2026

Attention Trainers/Owners
FHBPA Stakes Day:
Six $100K Florida Bred Stakes Races to be run on Saturday, April 25th
Nominations Due Saturday, April 11th

• 4+FM --- 6 and one-half Furlongs --- Dirt $100K
• 3YO --- 6 Furlongs --- Dirt $100K
• 3YOF --- 6 Furlongs --- Dirt $100K
• 4+FM --- Mile --- Turf $100K
• 4+ --- Mile and one-sixteenth --- Turf $100K
• 4+ --- 6 and one-half Furlongs --- Dirt $100K

03/06/2026

02/25/2026

Backside Appreciation 2026 Donation Request

02/18/2026

The FHBPA election is now in progress. Electronic voting will remain open until 11:59 PM EST on March 16, 2026. If you are an owner or trainer licensed in Florida and have not yet received your ballot email, please check your spam folder. If it is not in your spam folder, please call the election helpdesk at 1-866-720-4357 to request your validation number. The subject line for the election email reads as follows: FHBPA Election – Vote Now!

02/02/2026

ATTN MEMBERS: Live voting for the 2026 Board Elections begins Friday, February 13, 2026, and ends on Monday, March 16, 2026. If you have not already done so and you intend to vote, you MUST contact Debra at, [email protected] with the email address at which you wish to receive your ballot. Thank you.

01/21/2026

FHBPA Members,

Current Florida HBPA members are eligible to compete for free in an exclusive online qualifier to the $4.5 million-estimated National Horseplayers Championship (NHC), scheduled for March 13-15, 2026, at Horseshoe Las Vegas. The online qualifier, which will be held on Jan. 31, includes a $500 airfare voucher and a four-night stay at Horseshoe Las Vegas.

The NHC is the world’s richest and most prestigious handicapping tournament of the year for horseplayers and is the culmination of a year-long series of NTRA-sanctioned local tournaments conducted by racetracks, casino race books, off-track betting facilities, horse racing and handicapping websites, and Advance Deposit Wagering companies each of which sends its top qualifiers to the national finals. The 2026 NHC is estimated to offer prize money and travel awards totaling more than $4.5 million. The winner will take home an estimated $825,000 and will be named the 2026 Horseplayer of the Year honored at the 2027 Eclipse Awards.

The “FHBPA NHC Handicapping Challenge” is an online qualifier consisting of mythical win-place wagering on Gulfstream Park races. See below on instructions on how to play.

1. Go to horseplayers.com/contest/2226263 to register for the January 31 exclusive FHBPA NHC contest.
2. Click on the SIGN UP box at the top right-hand corner of the page. You will need to provide the information required.
3. You will receive an email to activate your account.
4. Return to the link. You will add one entry to your cart. There will be no charge.
5. The contest races will be available on Friday, January 30 and you will be able to start making your selections- click on the View/Make Pick box. All selections must be made prior to the first contest race scheduled post time.

Please note this contest is exclusive for current Florida HBPA members with at least one start at Gulfstream Park in the previous twelve months. If the winner is not a current FHBPA member the NHC prize package will go to the next highest finisher that is a current FHBPA member. The winner will be announced after a 48-hour audit period. This is a good opportunity to pack your bags for Vegas!

The Official Online Qualifying Site of the BCBC and NHC

01/07/2026

Reminder: This year’s FHBPA Board Election will be conducted ONLINE only. If you intend to vote, please provide Debra at the FHBPA office with your email address so that our election company can send a ballot to you via email. Debra’s email is: [email protected]

Recordatorio: Las elecciones de la Junta Directiva de FHBPA de este año se realizarán ÚNICAMENTE en línea. Si desea votar, por favor, proporcione su dirección de correo electrónico a Debra en la oficina de FHBPA para que nuestra empresa encargada de las elecciones pueda enviarle la papeleta de votación por correo electrónico. La dirección de correo electrónico de Debra es: [email protected]

01/02/2026

FLORIDA HORSEMEN’S BENEVOLENT AND PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION AND GULFSTREAM PARK AGREE ON A THREE-YEAR LIVE RACING CONTRACT THROUGH DECEMBER 2028

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL (December 31, 2025) – Florida Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (FHBPA) and Gulfstream Park Racing Association today announced a comprehensive, three-year agreement designed to provide stability to horsemen and women, and a sustainable path for live Thoroughbred racing in South Florida through December 31, 2028.

Working from the directive of the board of directors to obtain a long-term contract to provide stability for South Florida’s horsemen and women, the FHBPA is pleased to announce the following three-year live minimum racing schedule:

No less than 180 live race days for calendar year 2026
No less than 140 live race days for calendar year 2027
No less than 120 live race days for calendar year 2028

These agreed upon days establish the minimum number of guaranteed racing days for the next three years. The FHBPA will continue to look for opportunities to enhance racing and explore solutions for the long-term future of racing in South Florida.

“There are many unknowns in the world today, especially in horse racing; I am so proud of the work of your board of directors and their tenacity to fight to provide some clarity to our membership over the next three years, ” said Tom Cannell.

We wish to thank Gulfstream Park management for their collaboration in negotiating this long-term agreement and providing stability to our membership. We wish everyone a Happy New Year, and we are off to a strong start to 2026.

12/23/2025

The Adult Primary Care Mobile Clinic will be at Gulfstream Park on Friday, January 16, 2026.

The Adult Primary Care Mobile Clinic and the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Mobile Clinic are committed to safety and creating healthy communities. Moving health forward to meet the needs of those we serve; we aim to provide exceptional patient- and family-centered care that creates the Memorial experience.

While we try to avoid any last-minute changes to the schedule -unforeseen circumstances may arise. For the most up to date information, please use the QR Codes below to be redirected to our main page where you will find current dates and times as well as services offered.

12/23/2025

This year’s FHBPA Board Election will be conducted ONLINE only. If you intend to vote, please provide Debra at the FHBPA office with your email address so that our election company can send a ballot to you via email. Debra’s email is: [email protected]

Las elecciones de la Junta Directiva de FHBPA de este año se realizarán ÚNICAMENTE en línea. Si desea votar, por favor, proporcione su dirección de correo electrónico a Debra en la oficina de FHBPA para que nuestra empresa encargada de las elecciones pueda enviarle la papeleta de votación por correo electrónico. La dirección de correo electrónico de Debra es: [email protected]

09/05/2025

Boombox Betty Explodes to Maiden Victory

05/20/2025

There has been a lot written about decoupling in the last week, so we wanted to provide everyone an update.

Since our last update, the House passed a version of the proposed decoupling bill on April 25, but no companion bill has been voted on by the Senate. That remained the case heading toward the end of the session. Decoupling could only pass if both the House and Senate approved a bill and the Governor signed it into law, so several steps remained.

The legislative session was scheduled to end on May 2. The House and Senate, however, did not complete their work by then, and as a result they have agreed to extend the session to June 6. The extension only includes the budget, budget conforming bills, and the tax package. It does not include decoupling and as a result, we believe this issue is largely closed for this session.

There are some equine related provisions in the tax package, so we are continuing to monitor things on your behalf. While we do not expect decoupling to be part of any tax discussion, we do not want to let our guard down.

We are glad we could represent you and prevent decoupling from passing this session. Much of the success in doing that can be attributed to educating legislators about our great industry and reinforcing all of the positives. We need to stay with that message rather than making any negative comments as we continue to educate legislators and the public about all the benefits of horse racing.

Many thanks go out to all of our horsemen who pitched in and traveled to Tallahassee, spread the word, or stood with the industry. A special thanks goes out to the FHBPA Legislative Committee led by Chester Bishop along with Teresa Palmer, Peter Lawson, and Saffie Joseph, who worked tirelessly during the session alongside our lobbying and communications teams.

Defeating the decoupling legislation this year is just one step in securing the future of racing in South Florida. We will be in touch soon regarding plans for addressing our continuing long-term needs and goals.

Sincerely,
Your FHBPA Board of Directors