Section 550.5251 - Florida thoroughbred racing; certain permits; operating days(a) Upon receipt of a nonwagering permit, the permitholder shall apply between January 15 and February 4 of each year for a nonwagering license for the next state fiscal year. Such application must set forth the days and locations at which the permitholder will conduct nonwagering horseracing, must demonstrate that any location to which the nonwagering license applies is available for such use, and must indicate any changes in ownership or management of the permitholder occurring since the date of application for the prior license.(b) On or before April 15 of each year, the commission shall issue a license authorizing the nonwagering permitholder to conduct nonwagering horseracing during the next state fiscal year during the period and for the number of days set forth in the application, subject to this section.(c) The commission may extend a nonwagering license for the 2024 calendar year through the 2024-2025 fiscal year upon application for such extension by the nonwagering permitholder .(2)(a) Each licensed thoroughbred permitholder in this state must run an average of one race per racing day in which horses bred in this state and duly registered with the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders' Association have preference as entries over non-Florida-bred horses, unless otherwise agreed to in writing by the permitholder, the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders' Association, and the association representing a majority of the thoroughbred racehorse owners and trainers at that location. All licensed thoroughbred racetracks shall write the conditions for such races in which Florida-bred horses are preferred so as to assure that all Florida-bred horses available for racing at such tracks are given full opportunity to run in the class of races for which they are qualified. The opportunity of running must be afforded to each class of horses in the proportion that the number of horses in this class bears to the total number of Florida-bred horses available. A track is not required to write conditions for a race to accommodate a class of horses for which a race would otherwise not be run at the track during its meet.(b) Each licensed thoroughbred permitholder in this state may run one additional race per racing day composed exclusively of Arabian horses registered with the Arabian Horse Registry of America. Any licensed thoroughbred permitholder that elects to run one additional race per racing day composed exclusively of Arabian horses registered with the Arabian Horse Registry of America is not required to provide stables for the Arabian horses racing under this paragraph.(c) Each licensed thoroughbred permitholder in this state may run up to three additional races per racing day composed exclusively of quarter horses registered with the American Quarter Horse Association.s.46, ch. 92-348; s.6, ch. 93-123; s.14, ch. 96-364; s.7, ch. 98-190; s.39, ch. 2002-402; s.3, ch. 2003-295; s.18, ch. 2009-170; ss.4, 5, ch. 2010-29; s.26, ch. 2021-271; s.41, ch. 2022-7.Amended by 2024 Fla. Laws, ch. 115,s 12, eff. 7/1/2024.Amended by 2022 Fla. Laws, ch. 7, s 41, eff. 7/1/2022.Amended by 2021 Fla. Laws, ch. 271, s 26, eff. only if the Gaming Compact between the Seminole Tribe of Florida and the State of Florida executed by the Governor and the Seminole Tribe of Florida on 4/23/2021, as amended on 5/17/2021, under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988, is approved or deemed approved and not voided by the U.S. Department of the Interior, and shall take effect on the date that notice of the effective date of the compact is published in the Federal Register (contingency met).