Louisiana

It's great to see Kenny McPeek heading to California for the GI Malibu Stakes with (GI) Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan. However, it's disappointing that he doesn't have a flight to catch. Instead, he has to travel by van from Louisiana to California. Our industry needs to improve connectivity between the East and West Coasts and the South if we want our racing to survive and thrive. We need to simplify the logistics so that trainers feel more comfortable shipping their horses nationwide. Graded stakes need to be coordinated around...

Defending itself in a constitutionality lawsuit initiated by the trainer Jonathan Wong, the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority on Friday told a federal judge in Louisiana that the court should either toss out Wong's case entirely or hold off on letting the litigation proceed while the Supreme Court of the United States decides whether it will take on one of three active requests stemming from different cases whose parties all want the nation's highest court to weigh in on similar constitutional issues Wong raises in his lower-court lawsuit. In a...

When graded stakes winner Wit (Practical Joke--Numero d'Oro, by Medaglia d'Oro) went through the ring at 2024 Keeneland April Horses of Racing Age Sale, Andrew Cary, the bloodstock advisor for Keith and Ginger Myers' Coteau Grove Farm in Sunset, Louisiana, knew he wanted the horse, but not as a racing prospect. Cary's client and partner Whispering Oaks Farm in Carencro, Louisiana, saw the 'TDN Rising Star' as a perfect fit for the Louisiana breeding program. For the purchase price of just $100,000 they brought home a horse they believe will...

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit required fewer than 24 hours to shoot down a request made Monday by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) to delay the issuance of that court's mandate that the Horseracing and Safety Integrity Act is unconstitutional. The Authority had asked the appeals court to hold off on making the mandate official while the Authority petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to step in and decide the current HISA constitutionality conflict that exists because of clashing opinions out of two separate...

GSW/MGISP Breaking Lucky (Lookin At Lucky) was euthanized Saturday, Aug. 3 due to complications from colic at the age of 12 according to a release by Blue Star Racing who stood the stallion in Louisiana. Through a five-year stallion career in both Florida and Louisiana, he was the leading second crop sire by winners in Louisiana and the southwest region. "Our entire family is heartbroken," said Blue Star Racing's Dex Comardelle. "Lucky was such a loved member of our family and local community. We are still trying to process that...

The United States Supreme Court will not hear a challenge to the Horse Racing Safety and Integrity Act (HISA) filed by Oklahoma, Louisiana and West Virginia after the Sixth Court Circuit's Court of Appeals found that HISA is constitutional, according to an announcement from the Supreme Court Monday. "Certiorari denied," was the only statement coming from the court regarding the ruling, which was included among a monthly list of numerous other writ approvals and denials that the Supreme Court made public in batch format June 24. A writ of certiorari...

One day after the Louisiana State Racing Commission (LSRC) rolled back changes set to go into place on June 8 to allow more permissive use of Clenbuterol and Depo-Medrol, the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) sent a memo to owners, trainers, regulatory veterinarians, and track management advising that horses coming out of Louisiana must be placed on the vets' list. While the LSRC did go back to the ARCI model rules on those two drugs, they did not make changes to tens of others where guidelines for their usage...

Just days after announcing that a set of emergency rules were about to be enacted on June 8 that would loosen drug regulations in the state when it came to numerous medications, the Louisiana Racing Commission held an emergency meeting Tuesday in which it voted to restore the rules that had been governing Clenbuterol and Depo-Medrol. The Louisiana Racing Commission kept in place the new rules that had been enacted that covered dozens of other less controversial medications. Of the numerous drugs over which regulations were changed that, for the...

Just days after announcing plans to loosen drug restrictions, the Louisiana State Racing Commission will hold an emergency meeting Tuesday, June 4 to discuss "Corrupt and Prohibited Practices". In a notice sent late Monday, the LSRC noted the following items as topics of discussion: Discussion of Clenbuterol Discussion of Depo-Medrol Safeguards will be in the place during transition time for going back to increased withdrawal periods. The state of Louisiana, which does not fall under HISA's control, passed a set of emergency rules set to go into effect June 8...

The Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association will have a nearly $6,000,000 stakes schedule this year the LTBA announced Tuesday. Offered over 67 stakes races, of which 33 will offer a purse of over $100,000, the purses are part of a continuing program to support accredited Louisiana-breds along with incentives for breeders and stallion owners. "We are proud to offer a dynamic stakes program that provides a year-round schedule for Accredited Louisiana breds," said LTBA secretary-treasurer Roger Heitzmann III. "Our owners and trainers have found this to be a tremendous benefit, and...

The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled Thursday that it will not grant a full-court rehearing to the losing plaintiffs who contested a three-judge panel's Mar. 3 decision to uphold the constitutionality of the Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA). The case is one of five anti-HISA constitutionality lawsuits currently active in the federal court system. Led by the states of Oklahoma, West Virginia and Louisiana, the plaintiffs collectively petitioned Apr. 17 for a rarely granted "en banc" procedure that asked for a rehearing before...

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) Authority reiterated to a judge on Monday a belief that the plaintiffs in the federal lawsuit spearheaded by the state of Louisiana have "no right" to expand the scope of their complaint by letting new entities join the nine-month-old case in United States District Court (Western District of Louisiana). "Plaintiffs characterize their joinder of new parties as a 'routine amendment,'" the Apr. 3 court filing stated. "But they do not dispute that the purpose of their amendment is to transform the preliminary injunction...