Two animal wellness groups condemned the Louisiana State Racing Commission for passing an “emergency rule” going into effect June 8 which loosen medication rules at Louisiana tracks, according to a press release from Animal Wellness Action and Center for a Humane Economy.
“It's no surprise, since Louisiana has refused to join the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority's Anti-Doping and Medication Control program (HISA), which is a federal racing authority working to establish national medication rules that will eliminate race-day doping of horses and establish other reasonable horse-safety standards,” says the release, pointing out than in 2023, HISA tracks experienced a 32.5% lower breakdown rate than non-HISA tracks.
“Louisiana clearly believes that horses should race on more drugs and wants an open-door policy for cheating and racing without integrity,” said Fred Hudson, director of Equine Welfare for Animal Wellness Action. “If this racing commission were operating under HISA, it would be instead acting in the best interest of horses and preventing future tragic deaths from this kind of liberal use of medications.”
Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy called upon the commission to immediately reverse its approval for the new rule, and to join HISA.
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