Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act

A 2 1/2-year-old legal fight led by the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (NHBPA) to try and overturn the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) based on alleged constitutional flaws got distilled into one hour of oral arguments on Wednesday in the case's second go-round before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans. As expected, lawyers for the two sides stuck to the finer points of constitutionality law, and there were only several passing references related to horse racing. The arguments centered on...

A bill that would repeal the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) and replace it with a voluntary interstate compact to govern the nation's Thoroughbred, Standardbred, and Quarter Horse racing is about to be introduced in Congress. The Republican Louisiana Congressman Clay Higgins on Tuesday announced his intention to file the Racehorse Health and Safety Act (RHSA). The bill would establish a governing body known as the Racehorse Health and Safety Organization (RHSO), which would oversee breed-specific Scientific Medication Control Committees tasked with drafting and recommending drug rules for each...

Every week, the TDN publishes a roundup of key official rulings from the primary tracks within the four major racing jurisdictions of California, New York, Florida and Kentucky. Here's a primer on how each of these jurisdictions adjudicates different offenses, what they make public (or not) and where. The TDN also posts a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from the same week. These include decisions from around the country. California Track: Los Alamitos Date: 09/15/2023 Licensee: Kent Desormeaux, jockey Penalty: Three-day suspension Violation:...

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...

Hong Kong Harry (Ire) (Es Que Love {Ire}), who crossed the wire second in the GI Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic S. at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Derby Day was officially disqualified by the Churchill Downs stewards in an Aug. 26 ruling. The ruling came after the post-race urine sample and a subsequent split sample tested positive for the substance mofebutazone. In addition, trainer Phil D'Amato was fined $1,000 and owners Scott Anasstasi, Jimmy Ukegawa and Tony Valazazz had to forfeit $194,000 in purse earnings. D'Amato and the owners waived...

Editor's note: This is the latest in a series in the TDN to help industry members better understand the procedures under the new HISA and HIWU regulations. TDN: Please explain the rules on what happens during a Provisional Suspension. Are my employees still allowed to care for my horses? Can my assistant trainer be in charge? Or do I have to have them moved to an entirely new barn with new help? HISA:It is true that there have been some changes in the procedures surrounding a Provisional Suspension, along with...

Every week, the TDN publishes a roundup of key official rulings from the primary tracks within the four major racing jurisdictions of California, New York, Florida and Kentucky. Here's a primer on how each of these jurisdictions adjudicates different offenses, what they make public (or not) and where. The TDN will also post a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from the same week. These will include decisions from around the country. California Track: Del Mar Date: 08/03/2023 Licensee: Kent Desormeaux, jockey Penalty: Three-day...

With oral arguments in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit looming in less than two months, the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) Authority defendants in a two-year-old lawsuit spearheaded by the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (NHBPA) asserted in a legal brief Friday that the panel of judges should "dismiss this appeal or affirm the judgment" from a lower court that ruled the 2022 rewrite of the HISA law was constitutionally compliant. "Congress, the Executive, and all three federal courts that have considered the...

Every week, the TDN publishes a round-up of key official rulings from the primary tracks within the four major racing jurisdictions of California, New York, Florida and Kentucky. Here's a primer on how each of these jurisdictions adjudicates different offenses, what they make public (or not) and where. The TDN will also post a round-up of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from the same week. These will include decisions from around the country. CALIFORNIA Track: Del Mar Date: 07/23/2023 Licensee: Jose Valdivia, jockey Penalty: Three-day...

After Sunday's announcement that The Stronach Group (TSG) will close at the end of the year its flagship Northern California racetrack, Golden Gate Fields, the company at the helm of the sale has gone silent, ignoring all of TDN's requests for comment this week. To bring much-needed illumination on this seismic decision, the TDN spoke Thursday morning with Greg Ferraro, the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) chairman. Among several points raised, Ferraro shared his thoughts on the need for a fixed hub of racing in Northern California to secure the...

The North American Association of Racetrack Veterinarians (NAARV) is arguing for the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit to overturn the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) on constitutional grounds because the law allegedly "places the racetrack veterinarians at a greater risk than other covered persons" from a due process standpoint. Chief among the assertions made by the NAARV in a 51-page "friend of the court" brief filed July 14 are that "initial findings of wrongdoing by a member of NAARV, pursuant to HISA, result in a...

The Texas judge handling the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (NHBPA) constitutionality lawsuit that is trying to halt the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) on Wednesday refused to grant an injunction that would delay the May 22 implementation of the Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) program. In issuing his order, United States District Court Judge James Wesley Hendrix of the Northern District of Texas (Lubbock Division) pointed out that it is the second time in two weeks that he has informed the plaintiffs in a court order that...