Hialeah Race Course v. Gulfstream Park Racing Ass'n
| Decision Date | 19 November 1948 |
| Citation | 37 So.2d 692 |
| Parties | HIALEAH RACE COURSE, Inc. v. GULFSTREAM PARK RACING ASS'N, Inc. |
| Court | Florida Supreme Court |
Rehearing Denied Dec. 21, 1948.
Nichols & Gaither, of Miami, and Ausley, Collins & Truett, of Tallahassee, for petitioner.
Ward & Ward, of Miami, and Berryhill & Leaird of Ft. Lauderdale for respondent.
Morehead Pallot, Smith, Green & Phillips and John B. Orr, Jr., all of Miami, for Gables Racing Ass'n, Inc.
William B Watson, Jr., of Gainesville, for Florida State Racing Ass'n, amicus curiae.
The respondent Gulfstream Park Racing Association, as plaintiff, by its bill alleges that it is the holder of a 'permit' to conduct race meetings and the defendants, Hialeah Race Course, Inc., and the Gables Racing Association, Inc., also hold permits for such purposes, and they will hereinafter be referred to as 'Hialeah' and 'Tropical Park,' respectively; That the defendant, Florida State Racing Commission, hereinafter referred to as the 'Commission,' was created by the Legislature in 1935, and its duties and powers are covered by Section 550.02, F.S. 1941, F.S.A. This statute provides for a 120-day racing season, beginning December 1 each year, which the Commission shall apportion to the various tracks in a fair and impartial manner. This statute also provides that no horse race tracks located within one hundred air miles of each other shall operate on the same date. The three tracks which are parties in this action fall within this restrictive provision.
Plaintiff further alleges that the peak of the tourist season in southeast Florida now and for many years has been from about January 20 to March 15; that consequently this period is the most profitable for operating horse races and pari-mutuel betting; that, since plaintiff's creation, Hialeah has been allotted a forty-day period running approximately from January 20 to March 3, the choice dates for a profitable operation; that, although plaintiff has asked for these dates each year, the Commission arbitrarily and contrary to the mandatory provisions of the statute requiring a fair and impartial allocation, assigned these dates to Hialeah; and
That the 1947 Legislature of Florida adopted Chapter 23728 of the Acts of 1947, F.S.A. § 550.08-1, the title to said act being as follows:
'An Act to Allocate and Provide the Period of Operation of Horse Race Tracks and to Prohibit Future Permits in This State Where Three Horse Race Tracks Are Located, Within a Radius of One Hundred Air Miles of Each Other and Making Findings and Declaration of Policy Relative Thereto.'
Section 1 of this act takes from the Commission the power to allocate dates; Section 2 establishes a 120-day racing season, to be divided into consecutive 40-day periods beginning December 1 each year; Section 3 provides that the track producing the most tax revenue in the preceding year shall have is choice of periods, and the second in production shall have second choice.
Plaintiff by its bill further charges that Section 3 of this act is unconstitutional, alleging numerous grounds, viz: misleading title, denial of due process and equal protection, and deprivation of a property right, and prays that the Court will hold Section 3 of said Chapter 23728 unconstitutional and will direct the Commission to allocate the racing dates in a fair and impartial manner, or that the Court set up a fair plan of rotation.
To the foregoing bill of complaint the petitioner filed a motion to dismiss which the chancellor denied, of which order petioner now seeks a review by certiorari.
The Legislature, by Section 1 of Chapter 23728 made certain findings, to the effect that the allocation of the time of operation was affected with a public interest, as follows:
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