New Fed Bill Takes Aim at 'Inhumane Doping'

Two United States Senators made the claim on Friday that horses competing in the GI Kentucky Derby “will be injected with painkillers before being loaded into the starting gate” in a press release that announced a pending federal horse racing oversight bill titled “The Racehorse Doping Ban Act of 2019.”

The bill would authorize the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) to “develop rules for permitted and prohibited substances and create anti-doping education, research, testing and adjudication programs for horse racing.”

Tom Udall (D-NM) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) are the sponsors. Introduction is slated for next week.

“It is past time that Congress stop rewarding the horse racing industry for its inhumane doping violations with sweetheart gambling privileges and millions in casino slots subsidies,” said Udall.

“It's clear industry leaders are more concerned with their profits than protecting these iconic creatures,” Wyden said. “It's time for Congress to step in and end the cycle of abuse by banning the cruel practice of doping in horse racing once and for all.”

Stated goals in the release included “an end to race-day medication; a harmonized medication policy framework for all races with interstate 'simulcast' wagering; stiff penalties for cheating, including 'one and done' and 'three strikes, you're out' lifetime bans for the worst cases; and ensur[ing] racehorse drug administrations meet veterinary ethics.”

The release pointed out that competing House of Representatives legislation, the Horseracing Integrity Act of 2019 (which has existed in some form since 2015), would not be an effective bill because it “would not specifically ban the most harmful doping practices but rather create an industry dominated panel to list approved racehorse drugs.”

Udall and Wyden sponsored similar legislation in 2013. In 2015, Udall and former Representative Joe Pitts (R-PA) introduced legislation “to eliminate the federal statute that allows most wagering on horse racing to encourage the sport to end doping and crack down on cheaters,” the release stated.

“With racehorse death rates higher than in any other country, the U.S. industry has completely failed to self-regulate its doping and corruption abuses,” Udall said. “Legislation to ban doping in horseracing is the meaningful action we need to end the abuse of these iconic animals. Headlines around the country make it clear the future of this sport is in serious doubt, and this may be the last chance for meaningful reform–it's time for industry leaders to take the blinders off.”