As Florida considers ushering in a new era of casino mega-resorts, a dispute in the tiny Panhandle town of Gretna has focused attention on the state’s existing gambling landscape — and the considerable confusion that surrounds it.

Florida’s current gambling laws, some say, are so haphazard, so disjointed, that no one can even agree on what the term “horse racing” means anymore.

If you’re thinking of the Kentucky Derby, think again. Gretna’s new Creek Entertainment barrel racing facility — which also will offer poker and hopes to add slots — has just opened, despite fervent opposition from the state’s horse trainers and breeders. Instead of racing around an oval track, these horses zig-zag around red barrels, rodeo-style.

The owners of Creek Entertainment — which include a savvy Gulfstream Park lobbyist who once tried to install slots at Miami International Airport — say the particulars of how the horses are running don’t matter. Florida’s Department of Business and Professional Regulation has agreed, and signed off on barrel racing as fully compliant with Creek Entertainment’s quarter horse racing permits.

By opting for unconventional barrel races, Creek Entertainment is poised to reap all the rewards of running a horse track, while avoiding the typical requirement of sharing profits with the horsemen.

“This is nothing more than a get-rich-quick scheme,” said Kent Stirling, executive director of the Florida Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association. “When this gets to court, they’re going to have a lot of questions to answer.”

Stirling and other horsemen will soon argue their case before an administrative law judge, and the legal tussle will likely continue after that. Attorney Marc Dunbar, a Gulfstream Park lobbyist with an ownership stake in Creek Entertainment, says the dispute over his new track boils down to greedy horsemen who are unwilling to share racing purses with barrel racing riders. As for the notion that barrel racing isn’t true horse racing, Dunbar is incredulous.

“First of all, why is it called barrel racing?” Dunbar asked.

Of late, Dunbar has not only had to justify barrel racing, but he’s also been put on the defensive by accusations that influence-peddling played a role in the state approval of his racetrack. When Jim Barnes, a former investigator with the state’s Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering, retired last month, his farewell email to colleagues said he was joining the “dark side” and taking a job as head of security at the new barrel racing track. Dunbar insists that Barnes has not been hired and never even filled out an application.

When reached by a reporter, Barnes’ only comment was, “I really hope you don’t screw up my retirement job.”

Horses, jai alai

These days, as horse racing fades in popularity but slot machines and poker generate huge profits, horse racing permits can be lucrative not because of the actual races but because, under Florida law, running horses entitles the permit holder to offer poker and sometimes slots. The same is true of jai-alai permits, which can allow casinos so long as the permit holder stages an even-less-popular gambling sport that features acrobatic men bouncing a ball off a wall.