Four Senators ask Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Authority to justify its methodology

Four U.S. Senators have sent a letter to the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority and its federal overseer, the Federal Trade Commission, asking the agencies to provide answers to a series of questions regarding its pending launch, including whether HISA would want its statutory deadlines to be delayed to a later date.

The letter, signed by Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), and John Kennedy (R-La), takes issue with a number of decisions made by HISA in the lead-up to its launch, which is scheduled to occur on Friday, July 1. The letter notes that HISA has delayed the implementation of one of its two major prongs of regulation, a drug testing and enforcement program, until Jan. 1, and that the authority has also delayed the enforcement of several rules that were previously slated to go into effect on July 1.

Most notably, the letter explicitly asks if HISA and the FTC want the U.S. Congress to “statutorily” extend any of the current deadlines in the authority’s enabling legislation. The letter requests that HISA and the FTC respond to its questions by July 11.

The letter drew supportive comments from several affiliates of the National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, many of which had joined lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the legislation creating HISA. Both of the lawsuits were dismissed by federal judges, but those rulings have been appealed.

“We at the Iowa HBPA are incredibly grateful for [Senator Grassley’s] leadership on this issue, and he clearly has his facts in order,” said Jon Moss, the executive director of the Iowa HBPA, in a prepared statement. “To us it appears the senator won’t put up with a disregard for federal law, nor should he, and nor should the horsemen in the state of Iowa. We welcome his continued review and engagement regarding this law.”

:: Get ready for Saratoga and Del Mar with a Quarterly subscription to DRF Past Performances

Officials with HISA did not answer direct questions e-mailed to the authority, but a spokesperson released a statement in response to the request that said HISA “is laser-focused on preparing for the July 1 implementation date.”

“HISA fully intends to respond to the Senators’ questions in writing by July 11, per their request,” the statement said.

HISA and organizations supportive of the authority have been pressing licensees to register themselves and any horses under their care with the organization by the end of July 1. HISA has said that any horse that is not registered by that date will be unable to start in any races under which HISA’s jurisdiction falls.

The letter from the senators is the latest in a string of efforts to delay or thwart HISA’s onset by organizations in racing leery of its mandate or critical of its decisions. In addition to the federal lawsuits – which were joined by several racing commissions, horsemen’s groups, and racetrack owners – the state of Texas has flatly rejected HISA’s authority to regulate racing in the state. Two weeks ago, the state racing commission rejected a simulcasting application filed by Lone Star Park, using an unusual legal interpretation of its state racing rules.

The letter says that the enabling federal legislation required HISA to launch its Anti-Doping and Medication Control Program by July 1. HISA delayed the onset of that prong of its mission until Jan. 1, 2023, after negotiations with a potential enforcement partner, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, a private, non-profit company, were called off late last year.

The letter also points out that HISA is delaying the onset of rules regarding whip specifications and horseshoes by at least one month, which the letter claims is also in violation of the enabling legislation. HISA delayed the onset of both of those rules due to “supply-chain issues,” contending that the rule-compliant equipment could not be delivered in enough quantities by the July 1 date.

“This chaotic implementation process and poor communication by the authority makes it difficult for industry participants to comply with new rules and regulations,” the letter says. “Additionally, continuously changing implementation dates for new rules and regulations, and last-minute delays, cause more confusion and difficulty with implementation.”

Eric Hamelback, the chief executive of the National HBPA, released a statement on Tuesday saying that horsemen “would benefit from an amendment addressing the program effective date,” a measure that the organization has been pressing in public forums with HISA officials for months.

“It is evident to the NHBPA that the Act [and horsemen] would benefit from an amendment addressing the program effective date,” Hamelback said. “It would provide more time for the authority, the enforcement agency, industry participants, and stakeholders to adjust to and implement the new rules and regulations.”