Federal Trade Commission

Following the Federal Trade Commission's approval to add iron dextran to the Banned Substances list under the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority's (HISA) Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Program rules, the Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit (HIWU) announced Tuesday that it will use the next 30 days as an educational period to give Covered Persons time to adapt to the new rule. Enforcement of the iron dextran rule will begin December 27, 2023. As a reminder, the use/attempted use, administration/attempted administration, possession, or trafficking of a Banned Substance constitutes an...

Edited Press Release The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) has submitted proposed rule changes to its Racetrack Safety Program to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for review. A red-lined document noting these proposed changes is available here. The FTC will subsequently post the proposed rules to the public register for public comment. Until changes to the rules are approved by the FTC, the previously approved version of HISA's Racetrack Safety rules, which took effect July 1, 2022, will remain in place. Those rules are available in full on HISA's...

A federal judge has stayed a 14-month-old lawsuit initiated by the states of Louisiana and West Virginia that is trying to wipe out the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) via alleged constitutional violations, ordering the case to be "administratively terminated" until the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals makes a ruling in a separate suit in which the Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (HBPA) is also alleging HISA is unconstitutional. However, U.S. District Court (Western District of Louisiana) Chief Judge Terry Doughty wrote in his Sept. 14 ruling...

In a decision handed down Monday, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) overturned a decision by Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) stewards at Albuquerque Downs Racetrack last September who ruled that jockey Oscar Ceballos had struck his mount, Sheriff Brown (Curlin), in the Downs At Albuquerque H. five more times than the maximum six strikes permitted by HISA. The sanctions imposed by the Albuquerque Downs stewards that day included a fine and suspension for the jockey, and disqualification of the horse's purse earnings. It is understood that this is the...

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...

In two separate court filings Thursday, the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) Authority and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) both sharply criticized the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (NHBPA)'s decision to seek an injunction that would delay the May 22 implementation of the Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) program. What stood out was that neither the HISA Authority nor the FTC shied from trying to link the NHBPA's desire to maintain the "status quo" to the grim headlines that have dominated the sport over the past week. "Seven...

Six weeks after the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit upheld the constitutionality of the Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA), the losing plaintiffs/appellants in a case led by the states of Oklahoma, West Virginia and Louisiana have petitioned for a rarely granted "en banc" procedure that asks for a rehearing before all 28 of that court's judges instead of just the panel of three that issued the Mar. 3 decision. "A panel of this Court [held] that the [HISA] Authority's ability to issue federal regulations...

Bill Walmsley, Jon Moss, and the Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association for Iowa filed suit against the Federal Trade Commission to "stop the illegally constituted Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA)" on Thursday, according to a press release from the National HBPA. The case, Bill Walmsley, et. al. v. Federal Trade Commission, was filed in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas. "Congress cannot outsource regulatory authority to a private organization--unaccountable to the American people--that has the power to create rules, levy fines, and adjudicate disputes," said...

The plaintiffs in the federal lawsuit spearheaded by the state of Louisiana against the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) Authority and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) fired the latest salvo Monday, arguing in a filing that the judge should not accede to the defendants' request to strike a recently amended version of the complaint that expands the slate of plaintiffs by letting new entities join the case. "Defendants suggest that Plaintiffs engage in something sinister by seeking amendment to request expanded relief," stated the Mar. 27 memorandum filed in...

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) will begin using "can't-race" flags to enforce its existing Racetrack Safety and Registration regulations beginning on Mar. 27, 2023. Covered Persons and Horses who are not in compliance with HISA's Racetrack Safety and Registration rules, which went into effect on July 1, 2022, will be at risk of being unable to race until they comply with the rules. In order to be in full compliance with the Racetrack Safety and Registration rules: -Covered Persons must ensure that they and their Covered Horses are...

Edited Press Release The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has published the resubmitted Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) rules to the Federal Register, initiating a 14-day public comment period, according to a press release from HISA Friday morning. The FTC now has 60 days to approve or deny the proposed rules. HISA's draft ADMC rules were initially rejected by the FTC in late 2022 due to ongoing legal uncertainties. HISA resubmitted the rules for consideration by the FTC to give the agency more authority over...