Marty Irby

After Thursday's dismissal by a federal judge of the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (NHBPA)'s lawsuit questioning the constitutionality of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA), the NHBPA issued the following response: "Aspects of this law will have a devastating effect on our industry and put many hardworking horsemen and horsewomen out of business," said National HBPA CEO Eric Hamelback. "We've been saying for several years that this legislation was illegal. We are considering our options to appeal the decision and remain committed to doing due diligence to...

Edited Press Release The U.S. Senate passed a trillion-dollar infrastructure bill Tuesday without any provision to ban the export of live horses to Canada and Mexico for slaughter for human consumption, putting in jeopardy the anti-slaughter provision adopted more than a month ago in the House by a voice vote. The Senate assembled anew its Infrastructure bill, taking the House bill and number, H.R. 3684, the INVEST Act, but little else. The Senate effectively stripped an amendment led by U.S. Reps. Troy Carter, D-La., Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., John Katko, R-N.Y.,...

The FY2021 Agriculture Appropriations Package, scheduled for votes by the Subcommittee on Agriculture Appropriations and the full Appropriations Committee this week, doubles to $2 million the funding for enforcement of the Horse Protection Act (HPA) of 1970 while maintaining the current ban on horse slaughter in the United States by defunding the inspection of horse slaughter plants on U.S. soil. "We applaud Reps. Sanford Bishop and Jeff Fortenberry for their leadership of the subcommittee and for providing additional funding to enforce the 1970 law that made it a crime to...

Three versions of proposed federal legislation known as the Horseracing Integrity Act have been introduced in the United States Congress over the past five years, and only twice has the bill advanced as far as the subcommittee hearing level, like it did last Tuesday. Whether you're for or against HB 1754, which would mandate an independent anti-doping and medication control program in our sport, if you're called as a witness, it's crucial to tailor your arguments as concisely as possible. That's because legislators hearing testimony in the Subcommittee on Consumer...