[ricklowe]

Late last month, Marion Gaming Management LLC paid 2 million for 80 acres of agricultural property west of U.S. 301 and south of County Road 42.The company has begun to build a quarter horse race track. It already has secured a pari-mutuel license from the state. They say they will begin building up to a 36,000 sq ft clubhouse and up to half of that will be fore card games.

I thought the villages voted this down a few years ago but it may have been Sumter county that voted it down. it looks like the developers just moved it down the road a few hundred feet into Marion county?

[BS Beef]

An actual race track or just an off track betting site? I'm surprised there's a large enough surrounding population to support live racing.

[redwitch]

Can't have a card room without a race track. That be Florida law. Sumter County voted it down; Marion approved it. Think Sumter County lost a chance to have some nice money coming into its coffers.

[ricklowe]

they say the project will cost around 9 or 10 million....

[BarryRX]

Originally Posted by redwitch

Can't have a card room without a race track. That be Florida law. Sumter County voted it down; Marion approved it. Think Sumter County lost a chance to have some nice money coming into its coffers.

I think you can't have a card room without para mutual betting, not necessarily a track. For instance, the Ocala card room has OTB betting and a jailai pavilion and a big card room, but no horse track or dog track.

[ricklowe]

They will race 20 days per year with 8 races per day. The card rooms will be open all year. sounds more like a way to allow gambling than to promote racing....

[ricklowe]

my brother sent me pictures of a new track on that parcel of land so i'm sure they will have on site racing

[redwitch]

Originally Posted by BarryRX

I think you can't have a card room without para mutual betting, not necessarily a track. For instance, the Ocala card room has OTB betting and a jailai pavilion and a big card room, but no horse track or dog track.

I was close. Knew they had to have more to have a card room and, yes, the goal was the card room, not the race track. I think the ultimate goal is to one day have the card room turn into a casino. At least that was the impression I got from the promoter/developer the card room.

[ricklowe]

THIS IS THE LINK TO THE STORY Marion Gaming Management adds 30 acres to site for track, card room | Ocala.com

[USSGompers]

Originally Posted by ricklowe

THIS IS THE LINK TO THE STORY Marion Gaming Management adds 30 acres to site for track, card room | Ocala.com

Thank you for sharing that article. It said that the owner of Brown's Produce on CR 301 was paid almost a million dollars for the newly purchased 30 acres.

Way to go Larry Brown. I can't wait until the track is up and running. I love the excitement of horse racing!!

[ricklowe]

it could also bring in a lot of new business to village businesses

[TwoCarGarage]

Check this out--doesn't sound too good!!


March 3, 2014–As the Florida Senate Gaming Committee begins deliberation on hundreds of pages of proposed new gambling and pari-mutuel laws at its meeting today, word of a strange construction project in South Marion County has the area near The Villages buzzing about whether the structure is a card room or a horse racetrack.

According to Florida horse racing industry sources, unknown horse-related competitive events will take place there on March 17, despite the fact that “pari-mutuel barrel racing” was twice declared illegal by a court of law.

Speaking on behalf of nearly 7,000 collective racehorse owners and trainers, Florida horse racing industry officials confirm the project is NOT Thoroughbred racing. And it’s definitely NOT American Quarter Horse racing, either.

The American Quarter Horse Association and its Florida chapter, the Florida Quarter Horse Racing Association (FQHRA) report that no one has contacted either organization in reference to the South Marion project to apply for accreditation as legitimate Quarter Horse racing.

“No one really knows exactly what type of contrived horse activity the South Marion project is intending to conduct. We can only hope that more phony racing has not been used as an excuse to allow a year ’round card room,” said Florida Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (FHBPA) Executive Director Kent Stirling. “It’s a good example of how unchecked gambling is expanding statewide at the direct expense of Florida’s lucrative horse racing industry.”

In 2012, an elderly horsemen was duped into renting his American Quarter Horses for what he thought was a practice session under the auspices of the South Marion Real Estate Holdings pari-mutuel permit. He reported seeing Florida regulators and law enforcement officials on hand at the event, which made him initially believe what he was doing was legitimate horse racing, but upon later consideration, he felt he had been misled. The story was reported by Matt Hegarty of the Daily Racing Form.

“At stake are the many jobs created by our members, the vast majority of whom are small businesses,” Stirling said. “We are substantially concerned with the ultimate outcome.”