Harness-track owner throws support to medication bill

Jeff Gural, the owner of three harness tracks, has signed on with a group lobbying for support of a bill that would grant control of Thoroughbred racing’s medication policies and drug-testing programs to the United States Anti-Doping Agency, the group said.

Gural, a Standardbred owner and breeder, owns the Meadowlands in New Jersey, the most prominent harness-racing track in the U.S., and two upstate New York harness tracks and casinos, Tioga Downs and Vernon Downs. He has been outspoken about the alleged abuse of medication in harness racing, and he has frequently banned trainers from racing horses at his tracks, using his tracks’ federal rights to exclude.

The lobbying group, the Coalition for Horseracing Integrity, was formed earlier this year by the Jockey Club and supporters of the effort to create a top-down structure to regulate medication policies in all 38 U.S. racing jurisdictions. The group spent the spring shopping the bill to industry organizations, and it announced in summer that two federal legislators had signed on as sponsors.

The bill as written would apply only to Thoroughbred racing’s regulations. Several weeks ago, however, members of the coalition stated that they would be open to modifying the bill to apply to other breeds, even if the modification might have adverse consequences on support for the bill.

“We believe national oversight is the only way to ensure that everyone is playing fairly and that our animals are not subject to potentially harmful medications,” Gural said in a statement distributed by the coalition. “Our tracks are proud to join the Coalition, and we hope that our participation will help broaden these positive reforms to encompass Standardbred horseracing.”

The bill is opposed by a wide number of racing constituencies, including most rank-and-file horsemen’s groups, most Thoroughbred racetracks, and representative organizations of racing commissions. All have stated their support for an ongoing state-by-state approach to adopt uniform rules as an alternative to creating the top-down structure, for a variety of reasons.

During that state-by-state approach, harness horsemen’s organizations in several states, including Kentucky, New York, and Ohio, have resisted efforts by racing commissions to apply the uniform rules to Standardbred racing, citing differences in training and racing between the two breeds. Modifying the bill to include Standardbred racing could result in harness horsemen’s groups expressing their opposition to the legislation.

“Since its inception, the coalition has welcomed the participation of other horse racing industry stakeholders, and we hope representatives of other breeds follow the example set by Jeff Gural,” said a statement issued by the coalition in response to a question about modifying the bill to include Standardbred racing. The statement went on to say that the legislation, which has been introduced to a congressional subcommittee, “is subject to change and future versions could include Standardbred racing as well as Thoroughbred racing.”

The coalition’s members include the Jockey Club, Breeders’ Cup Ltd., the Water Hay Oats Alliance, the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association/Kentucky Owners and Breeders Association, and the U.S. Humane Society and an affiliated veterinary group. The groups share many members.