06/26/2024 – 18:51
The São Paulo City Council approved in a second and definitive vote the prohibition of animal races with betting or gambling on the afternoon of this Wednesday, 26th. The bill should directly impact the permanence and activities of the Jockey Club, whose transformation into a municipal park was included in the new Master Plan law, which came into force last year.
The vote was unanimous and not nominal (that is, when favorable councilors just need to “remain as they are”). The bill was authored by councilor Xexéu Tripoli (União Brasil), who called the decision “a historic moment for Brazil”.
After approval, the councilor said he would have the support of Mayor Ricardo Nunes (MDB), to whom the project will be sent for sanction in the coming days. “So that animals that run for humans to have entertainment and make money, that no longer exists,” he declared.
“That place (Jockey Club) becomes an open place for the entire population of the city of São Paulo, that it becomes a place for culture and entertainment,” he said.
According to the project, establishments in this sector will have a period of 180 days to cease activities, counting from the publication of the law. In case of non-compliance, an initial warning is given.
In the case of a first-time offender, a fine of R$100 multiplied by the number of people attending the space is imposed. In addition, if the regularization process takes more than 30 days, the operating license will be suspended.
From 2022, the project had been approved in the first (and preliminary) vote last year. “Sporting activities that use animals, such as races, disputes or any other event, with the respective issuance of betting pools are prohibited, even if by digital or virtual means”, says the text.
The Jockey Club is located in Cidade Jardim, in the southern part of São Paulo. In the new Master Plan law, the park proposed for the location appears with the name of João Carlos Di Genio, a businessman and founder of the Unip/Objetivo educational group, who died in 2022.
Another recent revision in São Paulo legislation allowed the construction of buildings around the space, in blocks previously restricted to low-rise homes and businesses, in the Exclusively Residential Zone (ZER) and Corridor Zone (ZCOR).
Currently, the Jockey Club is usually open to the public and hosts races mainly on Saturdays. This week, however, races are also planned on Friday, the 28th. The racecourse involves both in-person and online betting, both vetoed by the recently approved project.
One of the aspects most cited by those who defend the transformation into a municipal park is the Jockey Club’s IPTU debt with the city. According to the City Hall’s Active Debt platform, the amount is at least R$532.6 million, accumulated over more than a decade.
In a public hearing at the Chamber on the transformation of the space into a park, at the end of 2022, representatives of the Jockey Club stated that the operation already has this characteristic and that, furthermore, the change would not be of public interest. They also questioned the calculation of the debt owed to City Hall, which has been the subject of a legal dispute for years.
São Paulo has a recent case of Jockey Club space being transformed into a park. This is the Chácara do Jóquei Park, opened in Vila Sônia, in the west zone, in 2016. Historically, the space was used for training and other activities with horses.
O Estadão He contacted the Jockey Club, but has not received any response so far.
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