Welcome to Save Florida Racing

We welcome everyone who visits this site and thank them for their interest in the future of Florida thoroughbred racing.  We urge you to take time to read the articles and post a comment.  Most important, contact your fellow horsemen and spread the word. AND, TO ALL FHBPA MEMBERS, CAST YOUR VOTE TO ENSURE INSTALLATION OF A NEW FHBPA ADMINISTRATION! Please check back often for up-to-date news on this crucial issue — Save Florida Racing

Let the 2010 FHBPA Games Begin . . .

If you are new to this site, you will want to read the entries that follow this story, in order to learn why this entry has been posted.

Indian Charlie Needs A Reservation – For The Nut House

Reprinted from TrackTimesToday.com  3/3/10

The stallion Indian Charlie stands at Airdrie Stud in Midway, Ky. and he’s been a good one for many years. The Blood-Horse Stallion Register lists him with more than $30 million in progeny earnings, 45 stakes-winners, 523 named foals, 283 winners, etc.
It’s too bad his namesake, the moron Eddie Musselman, doesn’t have the same amount of class.
Musselman’s very expensive ‘Indian Charlie’ rag – it’s a piece of paper – prides itself on the old saw, “We Never Let The Truth Get In The Way Of A Good Story.” The imbecile who publishes it makes sure he confirms his motto every time he runs his piece of paper through a copying machine.
There are two facets of the Indian Charlie piece of paper that make it a monumental black eye for racing. The first is that there are actually people who believe the baloney he spouts. The second is that there are actually people who support him monetarily. And, apparently, they support him well based on that recent revelation that he deposited many thousands of dollars in a bank account for about eight consecutive days to try to dupe the government, which frowns on such things. After he was nabbed, this nincompoop who pretends to be a friend of racing fell into the apology rowboat where Tiger Woods, Mark McGwire, A-Rod, Rafael Palmeiro and several other recent recreants of remorse had to move over to let him in. They put him in the middle so that the boat wouldn’t tip over.
The joker’s latest gem of stupidity was circulated at the Fasig-Tipton sale on Tuesday. Here’s one of the entries on his piece of paper, under the title “Bye Bye Gino.”
“Our informants tell us that South Florida Media Mogul, Gino Stevens, is now officially null & void. There has not been one single copy of Post Time USA seen anywhere at the Calder Casino, or Gulfstream, which means it’s FOOD STAMP time for ‘ol Gino.
Gino tried to scam Marylou Whitney into buying that lovely publication last year for one million dollars, but Marylou, bless her heart, told Gino she was “busted” just so he would leave her alone. Apparently it worked. Then came the news across the wire that Caroline (sic) Hine had put the “GONG” on Gino and has filed for a divorce between Gino and Sonny’s Funny Money!
So finally it looks like Gino Stevens mooching days are finally over in the horse business and we won’t be subjected to this slime-ball &/or his tactics any longer.”
One dictionary definition of drivel is “to talk stupidly or childishly.” Let’s give Musselman an A-plus for drivel. There isn’t an ounce of truth to even one of the “drivels” he professes to know so much about.
First of all, if Gene Stevens is broke, so is Jess Jackson. Gene has enough money socked away via the success of Post Time USA and some well-placed investments that he could live another lifetime without ever working a day.
Second, he never offered to sell Post Time to Marylou Whitney for a million dollars and she never told him she was “busted.”
Third, Gene has never taken one cent from Carolyn Hine (by the way, idiot, that’s how she spells her name) and whomever told Musselman that Gene and Carolyn are no longer friends is as dumb as he is. Carolyn has long joked that Gene has more money than she does and she owned a horse that earned $9 million. And she called Gene this morning, wondering why anybody would print the drivel she read on the piece of paper. She was particularly hurt about the reference to “Sonny’s Funny Money.” On a piece of paper Musselman wrote several years ago, he even referred to the fact that Gene has more money than all the other turf writers put together.
And, of course, Gene and Carolyn have a stable of runners with trainer Harry Benson. They are partners, even though Musselman’s misinformed informants have apparently told him differently. Jealous detractors are the last people a real newsman would want to turn to for facts.
As for Post Time USA not being around at the Gulfstream meeting, that’s by design. Gene has vowed never again to glorify the racetrack of his former friend, Frank Stronach, whom he feels, along with FHBPA president Sammy Gordon and a few of the other FHBPA board members, has disgraced the industry with his insidious manipulations over the past decade and thrown Florida racing into such utter chaos.
Finally, Gene currently has several groups interested in buying his magazine and has been in constant touch with one in particular. And, while Indian Charlie tries to scrape up another quarter to buy pieces of paper to print his whatever it is, Gene will be on vacation in warmer climes. Assuming, of course, he can find the money somewhere for the plane trip.
P. S. The reason Gene has never printed one word about the imbecile Indian Charlie is because he doesn’t believe in swatting a flea with an elephant gun. So I decided to do it. Somebody around here has to tell the truth.

New Leadership Needed at the FHBPA

Post Time USA publisher Gene Stevens and Track Times Today blogger Bernie Dickman are being heralded as the Woodwood & Bernstein of Florida racing. What the latter duo uncovered at Watergate, Stevens and Dickman have been uncovering to the benefit of the thoroughbred racing industry.

Ballots have been mailed for voting for the board of directors of the Florida Horsemen’s Benevolent & Protective Association.

It is incumbent upon all voting members of the organization to first be familiar with the shenanigans of president Sam Gordon (the liar) and the devastation he and his RUBBER-STAMPING YES MEN have caused. In 2008 alone, they were responsible for costing the Florida racing industry in excess of $20 million – $10 million from the Florida horsemen and more than $10 million from Churchill Downs Inc. (CDI) in the form of EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization). This monetary damage has transformed the owners, breeders and trainers of Florida’s once proud and powerful racing industry into a legion of cripples.

Find out what Gordon and his puppets, including FHBPA director Kent Stirling and attorney Bruce Green, DO NOT WANT YOU TO KNOW. It’s currently on the blog sites of Post Time USA publisher Gene Stevens (posttimeusa.com) and Bernie Dickman (tracktimestoday.net). Learn about Gordon and his cronies’ sellout of the Florida racing industry via secret agendas, ulterior motives, lies, half-truths, misinformation and inappropriate demands.

Anything less than giving them the boot in the upcoming election would be detrimental and counter productive to the cause of horsemen and a disservice to the entire Florida industry.

WE ARE RECOMMENDING YOU VOTE FOR THE FOLLOWING FIVE

Trainers: HARRY BENSON, HERBERT MILLER, RALPH ZIADIE

Owners: CURTIS MIKKELSEN, ROHAN CRICHTON

Word filtering through the grapevine is that current board members running for re-election who favor Gordon’s confirmation as president are owners Phil Combest and William Wright and trainer Rosemary Homeister Sr. A vote for them will be a vote to keep the dictator Gordon in power.

From the remaining candidates we also like TERRY OLIVER. If six votes were allowed he would be included. Unfortunately, only five can be chosen. We are not familiar enough with the remaining candidates – trainer Ron Gaffney and owners Tom Cannell and Adam Lazarus – to endorse them. We will update their past performances for future elections.

As for the upcoming election, if you are happy with the current state of affairs, you can vote for Sam Gordon and his cronies and retain the status quo so they can continue to make a mockery of their obligations to their constituents. Or, you can hold their feet to the fire by sweeping them out, and effect a major change in the way a board of directors is supposed to serve its members.

AFTER READERS REVIEW THE FHBPA MATERIAL, FOR EVERY COMMENT POSTED ON THE BLOG, GENE STEVENS WILL DONATE $2 TO CHARITY— $1 FOR HAITIAN RELIEF AND $1 TO A REPUTABLE AGENCY FOR THE PREVENTION OF HORSE SLAUGHTER.

THIS MATERIAL MAY BE FOUND BY VISITING THE FOLLOWING WEBSITES: SAVEFLORIDARACING.WORDPRESS.COM, TRACKTIMESTODAY.NET OR BY NAVIGATING THROUGH THE LINK AT POSTTIMEUSA.COM.

IN ORDER FOR YOUR COMMENT TO BE COUNTED FOR THE DONATION, PLEASE VERIFY YOU HAVE POSTED IT BY EMAILING FHBPAWATCHDOG@YAHOO.COM.  INCLUDE YOUR NAME, TELEPHONE NUMBER, THE DATE YOU COMMENTED, ALONG WITH THE FIRST SENTENCE OF YOUR BLOG COMMENT. YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION WILL REMAIN STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL (ONLY ONE COMMENT PER PERSON).

THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO HELP THE HAITIAN RELIEF FUND AND JOIN IN THE FIGHT FOR THE PREVENTION OF HORSE SLAUGHTER. WE AWAIT YOUR RESPONSE, AND AS LONG AS IT INDICATES YOU HAVE READ THE FHBPA SECTIONS ON OUR SITES AND DIRECTLY RESPOND TO THEM, WE WILL HONOR OUR COMMITMENT.

TIME IS RIPE FOR FHBPA UPHEAVAL

Reprinted from Post Time USA, August 2009

“Something’s rotten in Denmark.” Shakespeare wrote it – Marcellus said it in Hamlet – and if Willie was alive today he’d probably use it in his next work, “A Mid-Summer’s Nightmare.”… click here to download full story

click for Gordon / Stevens letter: GordonStevensLetter

click  for Perlman letter: PerlmanLetter

Re-election of FHBPA Board Will Prolong Disaster

Reprinted from Post Time USA, August 2009

In our last issue, I attempted – in a nicer way than the Florida HBPA executive board deserved – to advise horsemen why not to buy into the malarkey that group sold to the majority of its members. The group is led by its president, Sam (I’ve never been wrong) Gordon, Treasurer Barry (Ring around the Rosie) Rose and Director Kent (We’ve got to stick together even if you have to starve to death) Stirling, who have brought South Florida’s horsemen to destitution’s door…    click for full story: Re-ElectionDisaster

Most Florida Horsemen Won’t Live To See The Money The FHBPA Has Squandered

Reprinted from Post Time USA, August 2008

From the moment I left show business and became involved in the racing industry more than four decades ago I have fought for the maximizing of purses and benefits for horsemen, the people who put on the show.

So, imagine my surprise when I attended a “Welcome Back To Calder” meeting in April prior to the opening of its race meet, to learn that the Florida Horsemen’s Benevolent & Protective Association (of which I am a member), was threatening to stop the track’s simulcast signal from being transmitted…  click for full story : MoneyFHBPAhasSquandered

click for Mills letter: Mills Letter

click for Sam Gordon letter: SamGordonletter

click for Wolfson letter: WolfsonLetter

Buddies Have Mastered The Art Of Postponement

Reprinted from TrackTimesToday.net

2-26-2010

Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

Or, more importantly in this case, who learned the art of legal postponements first, Magna’s boss, Frank Stronach, or his friend, FHBPA president Sammy Gordon?

This week, Magna canceled the long-awaited auction of Pimlico Race Course, Laurel Park and the Bowie Training Center for the fourth time even though, it would seem, the sale of the properties would speed up Magna’s run toward solvency. Of course, Magna’s attorneys were unavailable for comment after the latest postponement, which sets the auction date back to March 25 in New York.

There has to be a great deal more than meets the eye here, other than that the slick Magna machine simply needs more time to prepare for the sale. There has to be some hidden reason why it would be more in Magna’s best interests to hold this auction later rather than sooner. It certainly can’t be to reap more profits from the current Laurel meeting!

Sammy Gordon has proven much more adept than his friend at postponements, canceling the dates of his deposition stemming from an HBPA lawsuit no less than 12 times in the past 1 1/2 years. After issuing him a subpoena, the plaintiff’s lawyer finally sat Gordon down on Feb. 15 for the first of a scheduled two-day deposition and it lasted six hours. Word is that Sammy was very ”agitated” throughout the process. Unfortunately, due to a medical emergency in the family of the plaintiff’s lawyer, the second day of the deposition had to be postponed. Can’t wait for the outcome of this one!

Send In Those Ballots To Help Boot Sammy Gordon Out

Reprinted from TrackTimesToday.net

2-22-2010
Balloting for the election of members to the board of directors for the Florida HBPA is underway. Only a few weeks remain until voting closes, along with the chance to put in new board members who won’t be cowed by president Sammy Gordon and, if elected, vote to sweep him out of office.
I wrote the following column in the Jan. 16, 2009 issue of Track Times, and it is still pertinent today.

Do the ends always justify the means? In some cases, possibly, but most of the time the answer is no. We’ve learned through eight years under the treacherous Bush regime that people in power can abuse that power and responsibilities, using it to further their own personal agendas. A lot like the Florida HBPA has been doing all through the prolonged battles with the racetracks over simulcasting contracts, ADWs and slots revenues.
The Florida HBPA doesn’t particularly care for me, or this magazine, or Gene Stevens, or Post Time USA. We have had the audacity to challenge the actions of president Sammy Gordon and executive whatever-he’s-called Kent Stirling, two of the great manipulators in the sport. There has never been a contentious issue concerning the FBHPA that the two haven’t tried to manipulate into their own advantage. Then they always blame the other guy, or the media.
Gordon and Stirling and several of the sheep that follow them have been busy bellowing over their “success” in signing an ADW agreement with Churchill Downs/Calder on Dec. 23. The FHBPA spent eight months destroying Calder’s bottom line, depriving bettors from using their ADWs to bet on races from Calder, causing untold hardships for owners and trainers competing at Calder, and having many horsemen pack up and leave for other venues, mainly New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Now, the FHBPA wants to take credit for the new agreement. What a coincidence that the agreement came about 10 days before the opening of Gulfstream, owned by Gordon’s bosom buddy, Frank Stronach. What an incredible stroke of luck that they were able to finalize the deal at this time!
Gene Stevens and I have been saying for the past several weeks that the problems of the summer have cost the Florida horsemen about $10 million. Stirling, using his unique ability to twist the truth, wrote the following in the FHBPA release on Dec. 23.
“Let me clear up one thing. It’s been trumpeted in the press (thank you, Gene Stevens) that not signing an ADW contract has cost the horsemen over ten million dollars. That’s ridiculous! Last year, ADW wagering accounted for less than five percent of total handle. This fight was for the future because ADWs ARE the future of horse gambling.”
(I’m really insulted that Stirling only mentioned Gene, and left me out).
Now, here’s the real scoop, as opposed to Stirling’s fantasy. Gene and I have never said that the loss of ADW wagering by itself was responsible for costing the horsemen $10 million. We said that the entire situation cost $10 million. “The entire situation” includes the scrapping of a bunch of lucrative stakes at Tropical, and Calder’s cutting of overnight purses and stakes purses several times to help combat the downward spiral. Want to see the proof?
In 2007, Calder’s summer/fall purses totaled $25.9 million. In 2008, they plunged to $19.7 million. That’s a decrease of $6.2 million. In 2007, the Tropical purses added up to $12.3 million. In 2008, they added up to $7.9 million. That’s a decrease of $4.4 million. If you add $6.2 million and $4.4 million, it comes to $10.6 million, whether you do it by hand or by calculator. Does that seem to be ridiculous?
I’m sure Stirling will try to convince his constituents that those numbers are distorted or flat-out lies, but I doubt if anybody in the FHBPA or anyone else will buy it. Not even Sammy Gordon.
Wynn Jolley is a long-time Ocala farm owner, breeder and trainer who has, and does, race at all of Florida’s tracks. Wynn has been making a concerted effort to get on the FHBPA board of directors in an attempt to help steer the organization in a better direction. Of course, Stirling and Gordon are trying everything in their power to keep Wynn off the board. They can’t afford to have someone rock their little power boat.
Wynn traveled to South Florida with some other Ocalans a few weeks ago for an FHBPA meeting to make sure he was nominated for the board. He was. Now, the FHBPA clique that runs it all is feverishly trying to thwart his possible election. In a letter sent to Wynn on Jan. 7, signed by Michael Nyman, chairperson of the FHBPA nominating/election committee, it said the following, among other things:
“You are running for a seat on the Board of Directors as an Owner. The Nominating Committee has just learned that you are racing in the State of Florida as a Trainer and not as an Owner and that you have recently started a number of thoroughbred horses at Tampa Bay Downs as a Trainer. Because your status as either an Owner or Trainer is not presently clear, the Nominating Committee is requesting clarification of your status as either an Owner or a Trainer in order to determine your qualifications to run for the seat on the Board of Directors for which you have been nominated.”
Pretty clear. However, it just goes to reinforce how inept and incompetent these people are. This letter was written on Jan. 7 – I know, I have a copy of it. If the FHBPA had an inkling about what they were doing, they would have known what I know, and that means it isn’t brain surgery.
I’ll use Jan. 3 as an example, because that’s a day Wynn had three horses entered at Tampa. One was Wynn’s Wild Flower in the sixth race, and Wynn is listed – in Daily Racing Form – as trainer and OWNER. In the seventh race, Wynn had Wynn a Tour, and he’s listed as trainer and co-owner with three others. In the 11th race, Wynn started Wynnabull Wynn, and he’s listed as trainer AND owner. It’s hard to comprehend how the FHBPA was unable to discover this “secret information” when I was able to find it in the span of 60 seconds. It will be interesting to see if the FHBPA disputes these findings and attributes it to Racing Form error, or comes up with some other cock and bull story.
Nyman also advised Wynn that there’s a by-law they are unclear about: “You have not met the requirements of Article, etc. of the FHBPA by-laws in that it appears that you have not been principally stabled in Florida within the meaning of ………. of the FHBPA by-laws, as you were not physically present and racing thoroughbred horses in Miami-Dade County or Broward County Florida for at least one-half of the year immediately preceding your nomination for a seat on the Board of Directors.”
Now, I’m not sure if Wynn fullfils these qualifications or not, only he can straighten it out. But it seems like a lot of nit-picking designed solely to ensure he does not make it onto the board.
To prove it, I’ll throw out this little tidbit of information about Sammy Gordon, the exalted president of the organization, pertaining to his glorious participation in Florida racing. In the year 2008, Sammy, who professes to be so dedicated to the welfare of Florida racing and Florida horsemen, started the enormous sum of FIVE horses in Florida, two at the Calder meeting and three at the Tropical meeting. I think there’s another rule about having to start five horses in order to be board legal. I’m pretty sure all of Sammy’s horses were started in partnership with others. What a coincidence. By the way, Sammy’s horses also made 11 starts at Saratoga and Belmont Park. What a wonderful commitment to Florida.

FHBPA Leadership Is Not The Job For A Coward

Reprinted from TrackTimesToday.com

1-17-2010

For the past couple of years, certain members of the media (Bernie Dickman and Gene Stevens) have been at odds with the Florida HBPA. We feel that the horsemen have been shortchanged by the antics of president Sammy Gordon and executive director Kent Stirling, who, in our opinion, have been working for their own interests and not the best interests of the owners and trainers they are supposed to be representing.
The list of grievances against these two is quite long, including, but not limited to, last year’s debacle where the horsemen refused to sign off on the Advance Deposit Wagering contract with Calder. As a result, if you had an ADW account, like I do, and wanted to bet on the Calder races from Ocala, YOU COULD NOT! This began in April when Calder opened, and – miraculously – wasn’t resolved until the middle of December, just before Gulfstream Park was scheduled to open. The same Gulfstream Park owned by Gordon’s bosom buddy, Frank Stronach.
The cost of this sordid affair to the track and to the horsemen was many millions, although you would never know it by listening to the FHBPA principals. They trumpeted the new contract as if it was one of the great settlements of all time. It wasn’t. For anyone.
I have called Sammy Gordon a coward often in the past, and to back up that claim, what follows is a partial look into a lawsuit against him and the FHBPA that has been pending for several years. I won’t cite the circumstances of the suit or the names of others involved because this is not about who’s right and who’s wrong. It’s about cowardice and not facing up to the responsibilities that are inherent with being president of a major horsemen’s group.
The plaintiffs in the case have been trying to get Gordon to sit down for a deposition for about a year and a half, without success. Their attorney filed a motion with the Circuit Court in Broward County to force Gordon to appear, saying “Beginning  July 31, 2008, plaintiffs have attempted to take the Gordon deposition. It has been scheduled and cancelled ten (10) times by defendant FHBPA’s counsel for the reasons set forth in the table on the next page.”
Following is that table furnished to the court by the plaintiffs – first is the scheduled date of deposition, then the reason for cancellation.

July 31, 2008 – cancelled due to FHBPA’s counsel’s conflicting appointment.

February 5, 2009 – cancelled due to conflict on the calendar of FHBPA’s counsel.

February 13, 2009 – cancelled due to scheduling error by Calder’s counsel.

March 3, 2009 – cancelled due to Defendant  FHBPA’s scheduling conflict.

March 25, 2009 – Defendant FHBPA refused to produce witness on Notice of Deposition – insisted on subpoena.

April 21, 2009 – cancelled because witness had to attend a conference out of town after date agreed to by all parties.

May 28, 2009 – cancelled Defendant FHBPA refused to produce witness until they took continuing deposition of Plaintiffs.

August 25, 2009 – cancelled for the same reasons as on May 28.

September 10, 2009 – cancelled by Defendant FHBPA’s counsel because counsel had a hearing in another case.

September 3/October 6, 2009 – Defendant FHBPA’s Motion for Protective Order – refused to produce witness.

Get the picture? For what possible reasons could the president of the FHBPA be avoiding this deposition other than he’s quaking in his boots? HE’S A COWARD! And he shouldn’t be the head of the organization that’s so vital to the well-being of Florida’s horsemen. This is a crucial period for Florida and what the horsemen don’t need is a president who’s not only not man enough to stand up to a simple deposition, but who would allow his attorney to come up with such lame-brained excuses. They must be kidding! It’s time for the FHBPA membership to get behind a movement to give Sammy Gordon the boot!!