Bill introduced to roll back HISA implementation until 2024

A Texas congressman filed legislation on Tuesday that would delay the full-scale implementation of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority until Jan. 1, 2024.

The bill, filed by Lance Gooden, a Republican representing a district in Texas that includes a swath of Dallas, would delay the implementation of HISA’s drug-testing and medication rules, scheduled to take place on Jan. 1, 2023, while rolling back the limited rules the authority has already put in place. Those rules took effect on July 1 of this year.

The legislation has the support of the National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, which continues to pursue a lawsuit that sought to nullify the authority over claims of violations of several constitutional clauses.

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“I speak for all our membership, whose livelihood is determined by horse racing, when I say introduction of this legislation is a welcomed bit of common sense,” said Eric Hamelback, the National HBPA’s chief executive. “HISA implementation so far has been inconsistent, contradictory, confusing, burdensome, and plagued by a failure to understand real world conditions. A reasonable pause giving horsemen in Texas and across the country time to work with HISA to fix these problems before any further harm is done serves everyone’s interest.”

A statement from Gooden seemed to indicate that the lawmaker opposed HISA itself. HISA was created by federal legislation passed late in 2020 to be a national regulator of the sport. It was packaged into an omnibus bill that contained dozens of other bills, including some providing for COVID relief.

“The Authority has created uncertainty and harmed the horse racing industry,” Gooden said. “State governments are best equipped to regulate their respective horse racing industries and I will not stand idly by while the federal government once again pushes a one-size-fits-all approach.”

Back in 2020, Gooden signed on as a co-sponsor of the legislation establishing HISA.

In a statement in response to the legislation being filed, HISA noted that its safety program has already been in effect for three months and that it believes it is “on track” for the implementation of its drug-testing and medication rules in January.

“HISA is the law of the land, and our role is to fully implement it under the guidance of the law,” the statement said. “That is our charge, and we will comply.”

Last year, the state of Texas joined the lawsuit filed by the National HBPA and its affiliates. A court in North Texas dismissed the suit, but the plaintiffs have appealed. The state’s racing commission has also refused to allow HISA to regulate racing in the state, and it denied an interstate simulcasting license to Lone Star Park as of July 1, when HISA’s first set of rules when into effect, in order to prohibit HISA from enforcing any of its rules at the track.

Earlier this year, four U.S. Senators sent a letter to HISA asking the authority to respond to several criticisms. It also asked explicitly if HISA would support a delay in implementation. Last month, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, which conducts federal lobbying efforts on behalf of Thoroughbred racing, sent a letter to House and Senate leaders claiming that HISA continues to have “overwhelming support” in the racing industry.

The bill was inserted into the omnibus legislation in 2020 at the request of Sen. Mitch McConnell, the Kentucky Republican who is the current Senate minority leader.

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