Rep. Tonko pushes for federal oversight in racing

U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko, a New York Democrat representing the district that includes Saratoga Springs, plans to introduce a bill that would create a federal panel that would craft the sport’s medication policies and direct the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, a private company, to enforce the policies, the congressman announced on Friday.

The plan resurrects what has become a perennial effort by a small but influential faction of the racing industry to install the USADA in a position of authority. In the past three years, two federal bills seeking to appoint the USADA as the overseer of racing’s medication policies have been introduced, but both have failed to make it out of committee due to a lack of consensus on the need for federal involvement in the sport and a provision in the bills that would ban the race-day use of the anti-bleeding medication furosemide, a divisive issue in the U.S. racing industry.

According to material distributed by Tonko after a Friday conference call, the bill would give the USADA the ultimate authority over medication policies in all U.S. racing jurisdictions by providing the company with majority representation on the federal panel, which would be called the “Thoroughbred Horseracing Anti-Doping Organization.” That 11-person panel would set uniform policies for racing in all U.S. jurisdictions, with the states required to comply “as conditions upon the privilege to accept, receive, or transmit” simulcast wagers.

Tonko said the bill “has the support of a broad coalition of stakeholders inside and outside the racing industry.” Tonko specifically referenced The Jockey Club, one of the USADA’s most ardent supporters; the Breeders’ Cup, which has advocated for an alignment of U.S. medication policies with foreign jurisdictions; and the Water, Hay, Oats Alliance, a collection of individuals opposed to the race-day use of medication and supportive of federal oversight of racing.

The constituencies of the three organizations overlap significantly, and just after the announcement, they issued a release stating that they had joined with the Humane Society of the U.S. to form an organization to lobby for the bill.

Previous efforts to pass federal-oversight legislation have failed in large part because many racing constituencies, including racetracks, are wary of the involvement of the federal government in racing. In addition, horsemen have resisted the efforts due to the explicit race-day ban on furosemide, which many horsemen contend is necessary to mitigate a common condition among equine athletes worldwide. And, not insignificantly, many conservative lawmakers have said they will not embrace efforts to expand federal power without full consensus by the industry.

In contrast to the earlier bills, Tonko’s legislation would not include a specific ban on race-day medication, which in most U.S. states is limited to furosemide, commonly referred to as Lasix. Tonko also said during his conference call that his bill would garner additional support in the racing industry because of the creation of the federal panel, which would appear to grant the racing industry wider input into the crafting of medication policy than the previous bills.

“I think it’s a better-balanced and more-pragmatic approach,” Tonko said.

Tonko is a newcomer to the effort, as previous bills seeking USADA involvement in the sport were most prominently pushed by Rep. Joe Pitts of Pennsylvania and Sen. Tom Udall of New Mexico. One month ago, citing dissatisfaction with racing’s medication policies, the two congressmen introduced a bill that would ban simulcast wagering, a measure that likely would lead to the immediate cessation of racing at all major U.S. tracks. Supporters of the previous efforts to bring USADA aboard said they had no knowledge that the two congressmen planned to introduce the bill, either as a legitimate effort to reform the industry or as a stalking horse to a more reasonable bill down the road.

Although material distributed by Tonko emphasizes the independence of the policy-making panel, it would be heavily weighted toward the USADA.

One permanent panel member would be the USADA’s chief executive – currently Travis Tygart, who has appeared several times at racing functions over the past three years to lobby for a role for the USADA in the sport. Five other permanent positions would be reserved for USADA board members. The final five positions would be selected by the USADA from a list of nominations presented by “at least 12 Thoroughbred-industry entities,” none of which were named.

Funding for the panel and the USADA would be provided “entirely by the Thoroughbred racing industry,” Tonko’s material stated. The act’s provisions would go into effect Jan. 1, 2017.