The movement toward passage of the ambitiously named Horse Racing Integrity Act picked up a gust of steam this week with the announcement by trainer Graham Motion, trainer of Derby winner Animal Kingdom and champion Main Sequence, that he was signing on as a supporter of the Water Hay Oats Alliance.Better known as WHOA, the organization has been working hand in glove with the Coalition for Horse Racing Integrity in its two-pronged effort to gain support for the legislation in both the U.S. Congress and the Thoroughbred racing industry at large.The federal act would enable the industry to bring all racing jurisdictions under a uniform set of rules, testing, and penalties for the use of illegal substances in racehorses as well as standards for the administration of allowed medications, with procedures established by a Horse Racing Anti-Doping and Medication Control Authority. The authority, designed as a non-profit corporation, would be made up of board members of the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), a private entity, and racing industry representatives selected by the USADA board.“I’d been asked to join for a while,” Motion said this week from his Fair Hill stable in Maryland. “And I do have certain reservations about the federal government overseeing what we do. But at the same time I just see that we as an industry are spinning our wheels and not coming any closer to a governing body.”Human nature, being what it is, often requires personal experience to inspire participation in a broader movement. For the past two years, Motion has been fighting the racing authorities in Kentucky over a reported robaxin positive, contending his administration of the legal medication fell comfortably outside the prescribed withdrawal window. The commission’s decision to penalize Motion was overturned by a state circuit court last August, and now the racing commission is appealing that ruling.“It’s just so confusing for the horsemen who really want to try and stay on the straight and narrow,” Motion said. “Certainly, there have been other trainers who have fallen into the same problem. It’s a shame, and uncalled for, and I think the only way around it is to all be on the same page under a governing body, because right now I don’t see anyone guiding us through this stuff.“And I’m not just talking about anti-inflammatories,” Motion said. “I’m talking about vaccinations, antibiotics – everything that goes into maintaining the health of the horse. It’s very complicated, and it needs to be consistent wherever we race.”Motion is one of only a handful of active North American trainers listed as supporters of the WHOA movement. Not so coincidentally, all of them – including Neil Drysdale, Roger Attfield, Michael Dickinson, Jonathan Sheppard, and Motion – are natives of Great Britain, which is often cited by proponents of the legislation as the model for national uniform rules.The poison pill with trainer groups, however, is the portion of the bill that reads, “The horse racing anti-doping and medication control program shall include the following … A prohibition upon the administration of any prohibited or otherwise permitted substance to a covered horse within 24 hours of its next racing start.”Translation: no more race-day Lasix.Marty Irby, senior advisor to the Humane Society’s legislative fund, is among the Washington, D.C., lobbyists carrying the ball for the Horse Racing Integrity Act. Irby was at Santa Anita Park last weekend sounding out opinion from local racing leaders, including representatives of The Stronach Group, the Thoroughbred Owners of California, and the California Thoroughbred Trainers.“There was a common misconception about what the bill actually does in terms of federal oversight,” Irby said. “The oversight is by USADA, with limited oversight by the Federal Trade Commission. And the FTC provision is only there because the previous version of the bill was deemed unconstitutional because Congress doesn’t have the authority to delegate authority to a private entity.”Irby also encountered sentiment that the Humane Society was just a PETA-lite animal-rights organization bent on the elimination of horse racing as an ultimate goal. In fact, Irby works closely with the National Horse Racing Advisory Council of the Humane Society, a committee headed by former racetrack executive Joe De Francis. Former racetrack marketing executive Allen Gutterman, a member of the committee, was Irby’s host during his Santa Anita swing.“I’m a horse person, and everyone in our department is a horse person,” Irby said. “It’s not a vegan attempt to abolish horse racing. I always say its not an issue of ‘animal rights,’ it’s an issue of animal welfare, because every animal has a right to be well taken care of.”There is a large segment of the industry, however, that is unwavering in its contention that the use of a race-day diuretic like Lasix is consistent with the well-being of the Thoroughbred race horse. And Lasix, as it is now prescribed, would be illegal under the bill.“In joining WHOA I made it clear that I feel trainers need more input,” Graham Motion said. “I know the Lasix issue is always going to be a sticking point in getting the bill passed. Am I anti-Lasix? No. But if that’s what it takes to make the game better, I’d go along with it, because I am a strong proponent that we need a governing body.”