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Monthly news & updates
November, 2021
Spotlight On: FHBPA Board Member Troy Levy
Talk to Troy Levy for more than five minutes, and he will say it. “I love this game.” During the course of an hour-long conversation he’ll say it at least a half dozen times. He hopes that his unrestrained enthusiasm for horse racing is contagious.

“I honestly think the Thoroughbred racing industry is the best, it’s great to be involved in it,” Levy said. “I am always trying to think of ways to bring new people into the game, and we have had a decent amount of success in doing that. Tropical Racing has had a few dozen new owners who’ve never owned horses, some who had never even been to the racetrack before.”

Levy started Tropical Racing in South Florida in late 2016 and, less than two years later, he was elected to the Board of the Florida HBPA. But he was no newcomer to the sport. The Long Island native has been a member of the racing community since he was a teenager. 

It all started when a neighbor acquired an interest in a harness horse, and invited Levy and his father to be his guests at Roosevelt Raceway. The connection was immediate.

“Somehow, with horses, they get into your soul,” Levy said. “Just walking into the barn, actually touching a horse – that was it. As we were driving home, I said, ‘Hey, Pop, can we go back next weekend?’”

The then-13-year-old would help out on visits to the barn with his father and their neighbor. In short order, he began spending several hours a day at the track on weekends. The trainer had a small stable, and was happy to have an extra pair of hands.

“My dad would drop me off in the morning and pick me up in the afternoon, and the trainer was great about letting me hang around,” Levy recalled. “He let me sit beside him on the jog cart, he taught me how to walk horses, how to groom. I kept getting more and more involved.”

REMINDER - Florida HBPA‘s annual General Nominating Meeting and Awards Dinner will be held Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021, from 6-9 p.m. at Ten Palms at Gulfstream Park. All FHBPA members are welcome to attend. Call the FHBPA Office at (954) 457-3516 for info.
Florida HBPA and Gulfstream Park Host Legislators for a Day at the Track
Photo: Aidan Butler, Mike Rogers, Sen. Passidomo, Billy Badgett and Stephen Screnci
Senator Kathleen Passidomo, who was elected in October to serve as the next President of the Florida Senate, visited Gulfstream Park on Oct. 29 as the guest of the Florida HBPA and 1/ST Racing. Senator Passidomo is only the third woman to hold what is regarded as one of the most powerful roles in state government. Also enjoying tours of the backstretch and frontside of the track was Senator Jim Boyd, Chair of the Banking and Insurance Committee.

“We are honored that Senator Passidomo and Senator Boyd were able to take a few hours out of their demanding schedules to join us at Gulfstream Park,” FHBPA President Stephen Screnci said. “It is of utmost importance to our industry that we create strong relationships with our representatives, and that we have the opportunity to sit down with them and talk to them about the importance of Thoroughbred racing to the state. There are more than 99,000 Thoroughbred horses in Florida, supporting more than 23,000 jobs and creating an economic impact of $2.7 billion. The Florida HBPA represents more than 6,000 of our legislators’ constituents. Thoroughbred racing is vital to the state.”

Florida HBPA and 1/ST Racing will host Senator Lauren Book, the Senate Minority Leader and Vice Chair of the Regulated Industries Committee, and House Minority Leader Ramon Alexander next month, with Speaker Designate Paul Renner, and Representatives Danny Perez, Jose Tomkow, Tom Leek, Bobby Payne, Sam Garrison, Lawrence McClure and Bob Rommel slated for a visit in January.

Photo: Stephen Screnci, Mike Rogers, Billy Badgett, Sen. Boyd and Aidan Butler Credit: Ryan Thompson/Coglianese Photo