Senate bill introduced to federally regulate horse racing

A bill has been introduced in the Senate that is nearly identical to legislation already introduced in the House of Representatives that would create a national structure for horse-racing regulation, according to a supporter of the bill.

The Coalition for Horse Racing Integrity, a group founded by The Jockey Club to lobby for the bill, said Wednesday that the bill was introduced by Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Martha McSally (R-Ariz.). The bill is a counterpart to a bill introduced earlier this year in the House by Reps. Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.) and Andy Barr (R-Ky.).

The bill, which would appoint the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, a private, nonprofit group, as the overseer of racing’s medication rules and drug-testing programs, is not universally supported by the racing industry, with many racetracks and horsemen’s groups in opposition. However, it enjoys wide support among the breeding community and from organizations and tracks with strong ties to that constituency.

This is the first time the bill has been introduced in the Senate, where legislation is tightly controlled by the majority leader, Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). Churchill Downs Inc., which is headquartered in McConnell’s hometown of Louisville, has said it opposes the bill.

In a release, the CHRI said the bill is virtually identical to the House bill. However, the Senate version requires any seller of a horse to disclose to the buyer if the horse has ever been administered bisphosphonates, a class of drugs that has emerged as potentially problematic due to possible long-term deleterious effects on bone growth and density.

A version of the bill has been introduced three times in the House, but it has never advanced to a vote at any stage of the legislative process. The bill has become more viable in the past six months as the industry grapples with criticism over the spate of deaths at Santa Anita Park in Southern California.