Gulfstream Park Racing Ass'n, Inc. v. Tampa Bay Downs, Inc.

294 F. Supp. 2d 1291, 2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20225, 2003 WL 22888995
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Florida
DecidedNovember 7, 2003
Docket803CV135T30EAJ
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 294 F. Supp. 2d 1291 (Gulfstream Park Racing Ass'n, Inc. v. Tampa Bay Downs, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Gulfstream Park Racing Ass'n, Inc. v. Tampa Bay Downs, Inc., 294 F. Supp. 2d 1291, 2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20225, 2003 WL 22888995 (M.D. Fla. 2003).

Opinion

ORDER

MOODY, District Judge.

THIS CAUSE comes before this Court upon:

1. Gulfstream Park Racing Assn., Inc.’s (“Gulfstream”) Motion for Summary Judgment on counts 3 and 5 of its second amended complaint (Dkt.# 92) and Tampa Bay Downs, Inc.’s (“TBD”) response (Dkt.# 133) thereto;

2. Gulfstream’s Motion for Summary Judgment on counts 2 and 3 of TBD’s counterclaim (Dkt.# 90) and TBD’s response (Dkt.# 133) thereto;

3. TBD’s Motion for Summary Judgment on all counts of Gulfstream’s second amended complaint and count 1 of its counterclaim (Dkt.# 88) and Gulfstream’s response (Dkt.# 117) thereto; 1

4. Gulfstream’s Motions to Strike Expert Reports of Eugene Christiansen and Louis Guth (Dkts.# 63, 69) and TBD’s response (Dkt.# 81) thereto;

5. Gulfstream’s Motion to Exclude Declarations of Guth and Christiansen (Dkt.# 87) and TBD’s response (Dkt.# 110) thereto;

6. Gulfstream’s Motion to Strike or Exclude certain portions of declarations and *1295 depositions (Dkt.# 138) and TBD’s response (Dkt.# 148) thereto; and

7. Gulfstream’s Emergency Motion to Exclude Evidence of Damages for Violation of Mandatory Disclosure Requirements (Dkts.# 151, 152) and TBD’s response (Dkt.# 158) thereto.

I. BACKGROUND

This is an action between two competing thoroughbred racetracks. 2 Plaintiff/Counter-defendant, Gulfstream, operates a thoroughbred racetrack in Hallandale, Florida, which conducts live horse racing from January through April each year. Defendant/Counter-plaintiff, TBD, operates a thoroughbred racetrack in Tampa, Florida, which conducts live horse racing from December of one year through May of the next year.

A. FLORIDA’S PARI-MUTUEL INDUSTRY

Both racetracks are part of Florida’s pari-mutuel industry. The pari-mutuel industry mainly consists of venues conducting pari-mutuel sports such as horse racing, jai alai, and greyhound racing. 3 A number of state statutes and regulations as well as some federal statutes form a comprehensive regulatory regime, governing nearly every aspect of the industry.

Individuals who attend events at a parimutuel venue can either wager: (a) on live races or contests that are taking place at that venue; or (b) on non-live races or contests occurring elsewhere both inside and outside of Florida that are simulcast to those racetracks. The non-live simulcast events are subdivided 4 into: (1) races or contests occurring at other venues in Florida, referred to as intertrack wagering (“ITW”), Fla. Stat. § 550.002(17); (2) out-of-state thoroughbred horse races simulcast to a Florida thoroughbred racetrack then conducting live racing; (3) out of-state thoroughbred horse races simulcast to a pari-mutuel venue not conducting live thoroughbred horse racing, 5 referred to as intertrack wagering simulcasting (“ITWS”). 6

In order to bring in an out-of-state racetrack’s signal into Florida, Florida law requires an out-of-state thoroughbred racetrack and an in-state thoroughbred racetrack (which is conducting live racing) to enter into a contract to provide simul *1296 casts and to accept wagers on out-of-state horse races. 7 See Fla. Stat. § 550.3551(5). In other words in Florida, an out-of-state racetrack cannot contract directly with an ITWS site, like a jai alai fronton or greyhound racetrack. The in-state racetrack contracts with ITWS sites. In addition, an ITWS site within sixty miles of an instate racetrack (which is conducting live racing) must obtain that racetrack’s approval before it can accept wagers on ITWS signals. See 15 U.S.C. § 3004(b)(1)(A).

In Florida, there are five thoroughbred racetracks. 8 Except for TBD, all of the thoroughbred racetracks are located in south Florida near Miami. During the entire length of TBD’s racing season, one of the other four thoroughbred racetracks is operating. 9

In addition to the five thoroughbred racetracks, there are twenty six other parimutuel venues in Florida. TBD and the other thoroughbred racetracks cannot compete to accept wagers from the ITWS sites within sixty miles of their competitor’s site, because Section 3004(b) of the Interstate Horseracing Act, 15 U.S.C. § 3001, et seq. (the “IHA”), requires an ITWS site within sixty miles of a thoroughbred racetrack to obtain that tracks approval before the site can accept ITWS wagers. In Florida, this regulation prevents competition between TBD and the other racetracks on twelve of the twenty six venues, because twelve venues are within sixty miles of either TBD (four) or the other thoroughbred racetracks (eight). The remaining fourteen pari-mutuel venues (the “outside ITWS sites”) can contract for the right to wager on ITWS signals with whichever of the thoroughbred racetracks is then currently operating.

When an individual places a wager at an ITWS site, 10 most of that wager is placed in a pari-mutuel pool, a portion of which is paid to individual winners. The amount placed in the pari-mutuel pool is referred to as the “handle.” See Fla. Stat. § 550.002(13). The remaining portion of the wager goes to pay taxes, other statutorily created fees (i.e. breeders’ awards), the out-of-state racetrack, the in-state racetrack, the ITWS site, the out-of-state horsemen’s group, and for purses at the racetracks. See, e.g., Fla. Stat. § 550.6305(9). This portion of the wager is referred to as the “takeout.” See Fla. Stat. § 550.002(34).

B. EXCLUSIVE DISSEMINATION AGREEMENTS

In 1996, Florida relaxed its laws regulating simulcasting to allow what is known as *1297 “full card” simulcasting. 11

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294 F. Supp. 2d 1291, 2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20225, 2003 WL 22888995, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gulfstream-park-racing-assn-inc-v-tampa-bay-downs-inc-flmd-2003.