Andy Barr

When 27 individuals were indicted in March by federal authorities for their alleged involvement in a wide-spread doping scheme the story was about more than Jason Servis or Jorge Navarro or the cocktails of performance-enhancing drugs they were charged with using on their horses. It was about a system that was so hopelessly broken and incapable of effectively policing the sport that it took the federal government to come in and do what racing had continually failed to do--take meaningful steps to clean up the game. There had to be...

Backed by the political clout of United States Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), proponents of a federal bill mandating an independent anti-doping and medication control program for horse racing announced at an Aug. 31 press conference at Keeneland that a retooled version of the framework of legislation that has existed since 2015 will be introduced in the Senate in September by McConnell himself. Backers of the bill spoke Monday of newfound compromise and consensus among the sport's stakeholders that they said would help to usher the Horseracing Integrity and...

The wife of Congressman Andy Barr, who represents Lexington, died Tuesday. Eleanor Carol Leavell Barr was just 39. She died of mitral valve prolapse, a condition where the two valve flaps which make up the mitral valve do not close properly. "Congressman Andy Barr's wife Carol passed away suddenly tonight at the family home in Lexington," Mary Rosado, the congressman's chief of staff, said in a statement Tuesday night. "During this tragic time, we respectfully ask for privacy for Congressman Barr and his family to grieve Mrs. Barr being called...

The Horseracing Integrity Act (H.R. 1754), introduced last year by Congressional Horse Caucus co-chairs Representatives Paul Tonko (D-NY) and Andy Barr (R-KY), has officially received formal endorsement by a majority of the U.S. House of Representatives, with 226 Members now cosponsoring the legislation. The bipartisan bill authorizes creation of a non-governmental anti-doping authority governed by representatives of all major constituencies of the industry and responsible for implementing a national, uniform medication program throughout the sport. "After years working side by side with my friend Congressman Andy Barr to move this...