County administrators' push to add slot machines to Miami International Airport could one day require turning an airport parking lot into a horse-racing track, state documents reveal.
The sound of horse whinnies and snorts at MIA is a possibility because the county's bid for slots hinges on the airport obtaining a quarter-horse racing permit.
If successful, the county, with some creative legal maneuvering, would use that permit to add slots beyond the security checkpoints at MIA. Legislation passed by state lawmakers in Tallahassee this year, meant to help revive historic Hialeah Park, allows slots at Miami-Dade quarter-horse tracks.
The county's preference is to never get directly involved with horse racing -- the airport hopes to strike a deal with one of several local existing horse tracks to run the legally required races there.
State law doesn't force the slots casino and horse racing activities to occur at the same place, but they both must occur.
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