Federal Bill to Repeal and Replace HISA in Pipeline

[Wandering Eyes]

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.

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 (SMCCs) tasked with drafting and recommending rules for each breed. There would be racetrack safety oversight based on existing standards as set forth by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association and the model rules of the Association of Racing Commissioners International.

A draft of the pending bill stated that each individual state must enact a law specifically opting into the compact. Each state would then get to decide whether its own racing commission or RHSO got to enforce the new federal rules, which would supersede state statutes.

States wouldn't have to opt into RHSO, but the cost of not doing so would jeopardize their racetracks' ability to simulcast out of state. The draft bill stated that “A host State that is not a member State of the interstate compact is prohibited from allowing interstate transmission of any electronic signal” for betting purposes, including advance-deposit wagering.

Despite the effort to kill off HISA, the RHSA bill would retain some similarities to the existing law that governs America's Thoroughbred industry: There would still be “covered” horses, races, and licensed personnel. There would still be assessments for each state to pay its share of the costs of federal regulation, although the costs would be breed-specific.

There would also still be a board appointed to oversee the whole thing. But in RHSO's case, five of the directors would be appointed by the state racing commission of each of the five member states that had the greatest number of racing days during the preceding three-year period, with the other four to be appointed by the commissions of the remaining member states.

The National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (NHBPA) and the North American Association of Racetrack Veterinarians (NAARV) are among the entities that have endorsed the legislation.

The NHBPA is simultaneously spearheading a 2 1/2-year-old lawsuit that is trying to derail HISA Based on anti-constitutionality allegations. A lower federal court has already ruled that HISA is constitutional, and the Sept. 26 announcement of this pending legislation comes eight days before the NHBPA will argue for an overturning of HISA before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Doug Daniels, DVM, the president of the NHBPA, praised the pending legislation in a press release that read, in part, “The RHSA is a law that works from the ground up and brings all horseracing industry entities to the table in a collaborative, consensus-driven approach. It's a sensible piece of legislation that will cost horsemen much less than HISA because it will utilize resources already existing in the states. And it will be constitutional and democratic, allowing everyone in the industry to have a voice in the rulemaking process.”

Lisa Lazarus, the HISA Authority's chief executive officer, countered with her own statement that read, in part, “HISA is the law of the land and has made significant progress since its implementation began in July 2022. By bringing together stakeholders across racing, HISA has, for the first time, established national, uniform Racetrack Safety rules and a clear, tough and fair Anti-Doping and Medication Control program…. The racing industry definitively proved over decades that voluntary compacts and state-by-state patchwork regulation do not work…. At a time when I have called for an 'all-hands-on-deck' approach, it is disappointing to see there are still some who would rather throw up roadblocks than come together for the benefit of racing.”

This story will be updated.

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