CALDER RACE COURSE, INC., APPELLANT,
v.
FRANK A. GAITAN, APPELLEE

Fla. 3d DCA | 1980-12-16
No. 80-1899
Before HUBBART, C. J., and NESBITT, J., and MELVIN, WOODROW M. (Ret.), Associate Judge.
393 So. 2d 15 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (1980) Positive Treatment
Cited by 4 cases

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.

Synopsis

Calder Race Course appeals from an order granting trainer Frank Gaitan a temporary mandatory injunction requiring the race course to provide him with horse stalls. The court reverses, holding that despite state regulation of pari mutuel racing, private race tracks remain private corporations not subject to judicial mandates regarding internal managerial decisions like stall allocation.


Holding

The court held that state regulation of pari mutuel racing, standing alone, does not make race tracks public corporations or amenable to judicial mandates. The allocation of horse stalls is an internal managerial decision traditionally reserved to private corporations, and the relevant regulatory rule is merely directory, not mandatory. Private race tracks retain the right to choose those with whom they wish to do business unless they disparage constitutionally guaranteed rights.


Headnotes

[1] A private corporation's internal managerial decisions regarding the operation of its business are generally not subject to judicial intervention.

[2] State regulation of a commercial activity, such as pari-mutuel racing, does not automatically render the regulated entities public corporations amenable to judicial revie…

Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Key Quotes

“Since it is conceded that Gaitan has no contractual right to the use of the horse stalls, the focus of our inquiry is to ascertain whether the State of Florida has so regulated this commercial activity, (promoting horse racing), so as to render it a public corporation thereby subjecting its actions to judicial review.”

Establishes the central legal question: whether state regulation of horse racing converts private race tracks into public corporations subject to judicial oversight.

Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Facts & Procedural History

Gaitan, a horse trainer, applied late for stalls at Calder Race Course for its second 1980 session. Calder received 2,300 applications but could suppl…

The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.


Opinion of the Court
NESBITT, Judge.

NESBITT, Judge.

Calder Race Course, Inc. (Calder) appeals from an order granting Frank A. Gaitan, a trainer, a temporary mandatory injunction requiring it to provide Gaitan with horse stalls.

Since it is conceded that Gaitan has no contractual right to the use of the horse stalls, the focus of our inquiry is to ascertain whether the State of Florida has so regulated this commercial activity, (promoting horse racing), so as to render it a public corporation thereby subjecting its actions to judicial review. Finding that it has not, we reverse the order appealed from with directions to dissolve the injunction and dismiss the complaint.1

Gaitan, like all other trainers, was required to apply not later than July 14, 1980 in order to obtain horse stalls for the second session of Calder which operated between August 20, 1980 and November 8, 1980. Calder received 2,300 applications for horse stalls but was physically unable to supply more than 1,550 stalls. Although Gaitan was admittedly late in filing his application, it has been conceded that, even had he timely applied to the racing secretary for horse stalls, that request would have been denied.

It is also conceded by Calder that pari mutuel racing has been considerably regulated by the enactment of various portions of Chapter 550, Florida Statutes (1979). However, despite the existence of such regulations, it was held in Fulton v. Hecht, 545 F. 2d 540 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 430 U.S. 984, 97 S.Ct. 1682, 52 L.Ed.2d 379 (1977), that its regulation was not so excessive so as to make the state a “partner” in greyhound racing for the purposes of the Fourteenth Amendment. See also, Jackson v. Metropolitan Edison Company, 419 U.S. 345, 95 S.Ct. 449, 42 L.Ed.2d 477 (1974).

Admittedly, the State Board of Regulation promulgated Rule 7E-1.10(5), which provides that the racing secretary shall allocate horse stalls to trainers. This is the only area that can be pinpointed as a nexus between the regulation of commercial race tracks and the State of Florida so as to subject race tracks to regulation as public corporations; this nexus is insufficient. The common law rule is that courts will not make rulings which require private corporations to take affirmative action in areas traditionally reserved exclusively to internal managerial decisions in the operation of their business. West Coast Hospital Ass’n v. Hoare, 64 So. 2d 293 (Fla.1953); Yarnall Warehouse & Transfer, Inc. v. Three Ivory Brothers Moving Company, 226 So. 2d 887 (Fla.2d DCA 1969). See also, Galler v. Galler, 95 Ill.App.2d 340, 238 N.E. 2d 274 (1968). In the context of the actual allocation of horse stalls to trainers, Rule 7E -1.10(5) is merely directory rather than mandatory.

The State of Florida, in the public interest, has undertaken to regulate and control pari mutuel wagering in racing establishments. This action, standing alone, does not make those commercial enterprises amenable to regulation by the court. Tropical Park, Inc. v. Jock, 374 So. 2d 639 (Fla.3d DCA 1979), cert. denied, 383 So. 2d 1196 (Fla.1980). Until the Florida Legislature acts or private racing establishments disparage constitutionally guaranteed rights, they continue to have the right to choose those persons with whom they wish to do business.

For the foregoing reasons, the temporary mandatory injunction is reversed with directions that it be dissolved and the complaint be dismissed.

. We ordered this appeal expedited and heard oral argument on November 4, 1980. On the same date, we issued an order reversing the trial court’s imposition of an injunction. This opinion is to explain the reason for our ruling.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • Winfield v. NOE, 426 So. 2d 1148 (Fla. 3d DCA 1983)
    …common law right of those private enterprises to exclude persons with whom they choose not to do business, absent a showing that the exclusion of any person is for reasons which are constitutionally impermissible. Calder Race Course, Inc. v. Gaitan, 393 So. 2d 15 (Fla. 3d DCA 1980); Tropical Park, Inc. v. Jock, 374 So. 2d 639 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979), cert. denied, 383 So. 2d 1196 (Fla.1980). Generally, a trial court must give leave to amend a deficient complaint unless from the face of the complaint it clearly…
  • Calder Race Course, Inc. v. Gaitan, 430 So. 2d 975 (Fla. 3d DCA 1983)
    …ent circumstances require charging the costs to the prevailing party. Therefore, that portion of the trial court’s order denying appellant’s motion for costs is reversed. Affirmed in part and reversed in part. . Calder Race Course, Inc. v. Gaitan, 393 So. 2d 15 (Fla. 3d DCA 1980).…

Authorities Cited

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw