Another HBPA Vs. HISA Case Heads to Federal Appeals Court

Ten days after a federal judge denied a motion for a preliminary injunction that sought to halt the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) and its Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) program, the plaintiffs in the case, who are representatives of the Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (HBPA) chapters in Arkansas and Iowa, appealed that denial to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

Led by Bill Walmsley, the president of the Arkansas HBPA, and Jon Moss, the executive director of the Iowa HBPA, the July 21 appeal by the plaintiffs is part of an underlying lawsuit trying to get HISA declared unlawful. That federal case is the most recent of five separate legal attempts within the past two years trying to derail HISA via alleged claims of unconstitutionality.

The defendants, who are executives with the HISA Authority and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), stated in a separate court document also filed July 21 that they could soon be seeking a stay of that court's proceedings.

“Counsel for Authority Defendants have numerous upcoming deadlines, including in related cases that could bear on the issues raised in this case…” the HISA Authority's July 21 filing stated. “Authority Defendants may seek a stay of proceedings before this Court if and when Plaintiffs file an interlocutory appeal of this Court's order denying their Motion for Preliminary Injunction.”

The interlocutory appeal filed on Friday is a type of appeal that pertains only to that specific injunction denial, and not to the overall case that dates to Apr. 6, 2023.

This lawsuit in U.S. District Court (Eastern District of Arkansas, Northern Division) is separate from another lawsuit initiated by the National HBPA and 12 of its affiliates in 2021.

In that older lawsuit, a lower court judge has already ruled that a revised 2022 version of the HISA law is constitutional, but the HBPA plaintiffs are appealing that judgment to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Oral arguments are tentatively scheduled for the first week in October.

A third anti-HISA lawsuit, led by the states of Oklahoma, West Virginia and Louisiana, failed to strike down HISA in its appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Back on Mar. 3, that court affirmed the constitutionality of the amended HISA law that had been upheld by a lower court.