## Facts

- Sanford-Orlando Kennel Club, Inc. operated a dog racing plant in Seminole County pursuant to a state permit.
- Seminole Park & Fairgrounds, Inc. obtained a permit from the Florida State Racing Commission to conduct harness horse racing at a location alleged to be within 100 miles (by road) of the dog racing plant.
- Leon V. McLaughlin (a county citizen and taxpayer) and the Kennel Club sued the Commission and Seminole Park for declaratory and injunctive relief, asserting the permit violated § 550.05, Florida Statutes.
- By stipulation at final hearing, the case was limited to whether § 550.05 forbids a harness horse racing plant within 100 miles of an existing dog racing plant.
- The circuit court construed § 550.05 to impose a cross-category 100-mile restriction and declared the harness racing permit invalid, granting related injunctive relief.

## Issues

1. Whether § 550.05, Florida Statutes, prohibits issuing or maintaining a harness horse racing permit for a location within 100 miles (by road) of a permitted dog racing plant where a racing plant is located.

## Decision

- The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the circuit court’s final decree.
- The Court held § 550.05 applies across running horse, harness horse, and dog racing plants; an existing dog racing plant within 100 miles bars a harness racing permit within that radius.
- The Court indicated coercive relief against the Commission would be appropriate only if, after the decree, the Commission refused to follow the statute as construed.

## Legal Principles

- When a statute provides that “no permit shall be issued” for running horse, harness horse, or dog racing within 100 miles of another permitted location where a racing plant is located, the restriction applies to all listed racing types, not solely to the same type as the existing plant.
- Related provisions within a unified regulatory scheme may be read in pari materia to give consistent effect to the Legislature’s geographic-spacing policy for pari-mutuel racing facilities.
- Courts may declare the governing law and the legality of agency action; coercive orders against state officers are typically reserved for circumstances showing refusal to comply after the law is pronounced.

## Conclusion

The Florida Supreme Court upheld a declaratory decree construing § 550.05 to impose a single 100-mile buffer among running horse, harness horse, and dog racing plants, invalidating a harness racing permit issued within 100 miles of an existing permitted dog racing plant and cautioning that coercive relief against the Commission would depend on post-decree noncompliance.


Fla. State Racing Comm’n v. McLaughlin, 102 So. 2d 574 (Fla. 1958)