MARION COUNTY, FL (352today.com) – Gilligan Racing, LLC and the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association announced last week that they have secured a new location for a new Thoroughbred racing facility in Marion County.
Of course, they’re not saying exactly where just yet.
In a press release dated Wednesday, October 28, 2026, the partnering organizations said they “secured control” of some 300 acres in the county upon which to build the track the county has been talking about since FTBOA’s nonprofit subsidiary Ocala Thoroughbred Racing was granted stewardship of the lone remaining track permit in Florida, a decade and a half ago.
“There’s a reason Ocala is known as the Horse Capital of the World,” said John Morgan, of the world-famous Morgan & Morgan law firm as well as Gilligan Racing, LLC. “Some of the greatest Thoroughbreds in history have been bred, raised and trained right here. Now we have an extraordinary opportunity to bring world-class Thoroughbred racing to the very community that produces these magnificent athletes.
“We have the land, we have Florida’s sole remaining Thoroughbred racing permit, we have the equine industry and we have an incredible community. Now we need to bring together the public and private leadership to make this vision a reality. We intend to build something that will make Ocala proud and give Florida Thoroughbred racing an extraordinary future.”
The talk of a Thoroughbred racing facility in the greater Ocala area got distinctly louder over the last year or so, as the idea of Florida’s two remaining tracks—Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach and Tampa Bay Downs in Oldsmar—decoupling from horse racing and just keeping their gaming rooms open grew into probability. (The latest attempt to legally allow such a transition stalled in the state senate earlier this year.)
Gilligan Racing, LLC was formed out of the nucleus of race-loving investors and industry insiders to carry the development of that last remaining horse track through to fruition, as a way to help keep the North Central Florida Thoroughbred breeding and training industries vital.
While the coalition has so far declined to reveal the exact location of the park, the press release teased further updates in the near future.
“The project remains in its early planning stages. Gilligan Racing, working on behalf of OTR and alongside the FTBOA, will coordinate with Marion County, the State of Florida and regulators on the approvals, infrastructure and partnerships needed to advance the development, the announcement read. “Details on plans, partners and timeline will be released as planning progresses.”