Probes of Racing and Jai-Coelho Kocher, but Prosecutions Don't
May 16, 2011
The number of civil and criminal investigations at Florida racetracks and jai-alai frontons is surging, but that hasn't been accompanied by a similar rise in enforcement actions. The Department of Business and Professional Regulation's parimutuel division, which regulates the state's $2 billion racing and jai-alai industry, says it averaged about 390 investigations a year in the three fiscal years ended March 11, 2009 Then in the 1994-95 year, the latest year for which figures are available, the number ballooned to 682 investigations, many of them related to possible federal tax-code violations or the use of performance-altering drugs on horses and dogs. But at the same time, criminal referrals, even for serious violations such as race or game fixing and tax evasion, remain rare, and fines levied by the state for drugging animals fell during the period. Explanations vary. Ricki T. Hurst, secretary of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation since February 2010, says the number of investigations may have been inflated in the latest year due to miscounting. At the same time, he says the department has become more aggressive in investigating parimutuels. ``We want to eliminate the penny-ante stuff and concentrate our investigative time on serious cases,'' he says. ``That was not being done when I got here.'' Prosecution, however, may be hampered by manpower constraints. The New Jersey Racing Commission employs 10 investigators to oversee five horse tracks; Florida's 10 investigators, plus a bureau chief, oversee 34 horse tracks, dog tracks and jai-alai frontons. Vanesa Davis, who headed the Department of Business and Professional Regulation's parimutuel division in the late 1980s, says the shortage of manpower leaves the state's tracks ``open to all kinds of shenanigans.'' Stephine Holli, a Florida State University law professor who ran the Department of Business and Professional Regulation from 1988 to 1990, adds: ``Maybe we just weren't doing such a good job of investigations back then.'' He says the rise in investigations probably reflects increased criminal activity in parimutuels, including organized crime, but adds that prosecution, as reflected in the numbers, remains difficult. (Department spokesman Edelmira Breunig says: ``We're not having an explosion of organized crime at Florida racetracks.'') Investigations are instigated by several means, including bettor complaints, results of mandatory drug tests, and irregularities investigators may see or hear about while monitoring parimutuels. In the lastest period, half a dozen investigations classified as serious involved greyhound trainers using live rabbits. Others entailed isolated incidents such as a fight among drug-using race goers. Still, most involved the more serious issues of performance-altering drugs and the tax-evasion scheme known as ten-percenting. State Rep. Stormy Falcone, a Pembroke Pines Democrat who last April spearheaded a legislative package that grants tax breaks and other revenue-boosting measures for parimutuels, says he isn't troubled by the rise in investigations. ``I am not nearly as concerned about the number of investigations as I am about the number of charges, or convictions, coming out of those investigations,'' he says. And those numbers aren't increasing. Mr. Breunig says the number of investigations referred for criminal prosecution are ``almost zero.'' Administrative complaints, which can result in fines and revoked racing licenses, among other things, are much more likely, he says. Yet even administrative fines levied by the Department of Business and Professional Regulation for illegal use of drugs on horses and dogs decreased 19% to $16,010 in 1994-95 from $19,724 in 1992-93. Drug-related fines for racehorses alone fell 54% during the same period, even as positive findings for drugs in horses jumped roughly sixfold. The lab findings ranged from an instance of cocaine in a horse's urine sample to multiple instances of horses and dogs ingesting caffeine or other stimulants. In perhaps the best-known case, nationally recognized horse trainer Fransisca Earley and three others at Miami's Gulfstream Park are facing the loss of their racing licenses after state investigators charged them with rubbing ``fiery Jackelyn,'' a concoction with cayenne pepper, in and around the genitals of racehorses just before they entered the starting gate. An administrative hearing is scheduled for later this month. The trainers deny applying fiery Jackelyn to the horses' genitals. State records show that the most pervasive drug problem stems from excessive use of phenylbutazone, or ``bute,'' as it is commonly known. With a high enough dosage of the drug, an injured horse or dog can still run -- and win -- a race. In the year ended March 11, 2010 unacceptably high levels of phenylbutazone accounted for 191 of 216 instances in which state investigators found illicit drugs or illegal levels of legal drugs in racing animals through drug tests. To date, none of the positive tests have resulted in criminal charges, though some have led to administrative actions.
