McConnell, Barr, and Tonko seek to file briefs in support of HISA

Three legislators who supported a federal bill to create a national regulatory authority for horse racing and several former members of state racing commission have asked a U.S. District Court in Texas to grant a motion allowing them to file briefs supporting the regulatory body.

Sen. Mitch McConnell and Reps. Paul Tonko and Andy Barr filed the requests on Monday, as did three former members and staff of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, Ohio Racing Commission, and Indiana Horse Racing Commission. The requests were filed in order to support a motion to dismiss a lawsuit that is seeking to invalidate the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, which was created by the legislation.

The lawsuit was filed earlier this year by the states of Louisiana, Oklahoma, and West Virginia, supported by their state racing commissions and an owner of several Oklahoma racetracks. The parties have argued that the legislation authorizing the body violated several doctrines in the U.S. constitution preventing government from delegating powers to private companies.

Attorneys for the defendants filed the motion to dismiss last week.

The commission members who asked the court for permission to support the motion to dismiss include Robert Beck, the chairman of the KHRC from 2008 to 2015, and former KHRC members Tracy Farmer and John Philips; former Ohio State Racing Commission chairman William Koester; and Joe Gorajec, executive director of the Indiana commission from 1990-2015.

“Given their roles in the industry, [we] are uniquely qualified to provide the Court with additional context concerning the importance of HISA in helping to stave off existential risks to an industry that forms a vital part of the economies of many states, including Kentucky, and with information concerning the backdrop against which HISA was enacted,” the brief says.