Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act is scheduled for a markup hearing by the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce on Wednesday, Sept. 9, at 11:00 a.m. EST. U.S. Reps Paul Tonko, D-N.Y., and Andy Barr, R-Ky, will lead the markup hearing. U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky, announced last week he will introduce compromise legislation that will replicate several key provisions within H.R. 1754, also known as the Horseracing Integrity Act. It is expected the Committee will amend and approve H.R. 1754, allowing it to be taken...

The Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association issued a statement Tuesday regarding the proposed Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act, which was announced Monday and is expected to be introduced in the Senate this month. THA Chairman Alan Foreman said: "For the past year, the THA has been actively involved with industry leaders in seeking solutions to our medication issues and in enacting rules, policies and protocols to enhance the health, safety and welfare of our horses. It has been our widely-expressed view that the original Horseracing Integrity Act, as proposed, should encompass mandatory...

Six hours after an Aug. 31 press conference at which United States Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and other proponents of a federal bill announced newly achieved compromise among industry stakeholders in crafting new anti-doping oversight for horse racing, Eric Hamelback, the CEO of the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (HBPA), told TDN that his organization is actually not on board with the plan. Hamelback's emailed clarification was in response to a request for comment from TDN that did not arrive in time to be included in the...

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...