Month: August 2022

Texas Track Group Files Latest HISA Lawsuit

A group of entities associated with various racing-related industries in Texas, including the owners of Lone Star Park, has filed a new lawsuit against the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) in which declaratory and injunctive relief is sought along with a request for a preliminary injunction, according to court filing dated July 29.

Submitted to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Amarillo Division, the suit focuses on the relative power of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority–the umbrella non-profit established by the Act–to implement the program.

This latest filing is in the same district court–but different division–as a separate lawsuit filed by the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (NHBPA) in 2021.

Earlier this year, a federal judge threw out that case. The NHBPA subsequently filed an appeal with the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which is pending.

“The 'Authority' is empowered by law to, among other things, subpoena documents and compel testimony, search businesses and private databases and seize documents, conduct adjudicatory proceedings, and prosecute actions in federal court like other federal prosecutors,” the latest filing states.

“No private individuals have such powers. No private individual can show up at one's door and demand documents and testimony under sanction of law. No private individual can conduct a private search and seizure. And no private individual has the power to hale another private citizen into court to enforce offenses against the public. But the “Authority” does,” the filing adds.

So far, the Texas Racing Commission (TRC) has refused to comply with Act, which went into effect at the start of July, arguing that under Texas law only the commission has the authority to oversee horse racing in the state. HISA's current remit covers only Thoroughbred racing.

As a result, the signal from the state's Thoroughbred tracks cannot be sent out of state and advance deposit wagering companies are prevented from taking betting on Texas Thoroughbred races. There are no Thoroughbred meets scheduled in Texas between now and the end of the year.

According to a spokesperson for the Authority, HISA will mount a legal defence “while the Authority's focus remains on implementing the Racetrack Safety program and finalizing Anti-Doping and Medication Control rules.” Implementation for the latter is scheduled for Jan. 2023.

“The majority of racing participants support HISA's mission to protect those who play by the rules and hold those who fail to do so accountable in order to keep our equine and human athletes safe and the competition fair,” wrote the HISA spokesperson.

“The immense collaboration with state racing commissions, stewards, veterinarians, racetracks, trainers, and other horsemen that has taken place to date is evidence of this support, and we intend to continue to fulfill our mandate and work to make the industry safer,” the spokesperson added.

The plaintiffs include Global Gaming LSP, a limited liability company which owns Lone Star Park, and Gulf Coast Racing LLC, which owns a greyhound racetrack located in Nueces County, Texas. Gulf Coast Racing is allegedly seeking to redesignate the track as a Class 2 horseracing track, according to the filing.

The other two plaintiffs consist of LRP Group Ltd. a limited partnership working towards “operating an active horseracing track” in the south of the state, the filing states, and Valle De Los Tesoros, a limited partnership similarly looking to operate a horseracing track in South Texas, one currently designated inactive by the TRC.

It's unclear whether the planned racetracks listed in the suit are intended for Thoroughbred racing.

Among the arguments the plaintiffs make is that the legal jurisdiction given the Authority is of government power “in general” and of executive power “in particular,” but that the current design of the Authority renders it unconstitutional, meaning it is exercising “nothing other than naked legislative power.”

The plaintiffs write: “The 'Board' of the 'Authority,' comprising private individuals appointed through a Nominating Committee whose membership is established by the Authority's own incorporation documents, has not been appointed through the constitutionally required mechanisms for the exercise of executive power.”

To argue their position, the plaintiffs reference such historic texts as The Federalist papers of U.S. founding father, Alexander Hamilton, and “Commentaries on the Laws of England,” by William Blackstone, an English jurist from the 18th century who long suffered terrible gout.

This latest lawsuit constitutes the fourth legal challenge to HISA. Aside from the NHBPA filing, a case filed by the state of Oklahoma in the United States District Court, Eastern Division of Kentucky, is similarly ongoing.

Late last month, Louisiana and West Virginia won a preliminary injunction in federal court aimed at keeping HISA from being implemented in those two states until the Act's constitutionality gets decided in full.

HISA has since filed motions for stay pending appeal with the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

The post Texas Track Group Files Latest HISA Lawsuit appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Justique Is Lead In Last Sunday’s Triplet of Rising Star Fillies

In the same way which astronomical stars largely form in groups, so too did the 'TDN Rising Stars' this past Sunday. Not one, not two, but three leading ladies emerged from the nebulae of Del Mar and Saratoga, each with her own brand of brilliance. Chief among the splendor, and the last to show her shine, was Justique (Justify), whose brilliant turn of foot and effortless dismissal of rivals summoned forth comparisons to another glorious 'Rising Star' in her hayday–a John Shirreffs masterpiece, Hall of Famer Zenyatta (Street Cry {Ire}). Since then, she's come out “bright and hungry” and the focus shifts to what her enormous potential signals for the future.

 

Justique marks her conditioner's first debut winner in three years. John Shirreffs is a man famous for his patience, and keen intuition toward what his horses need on a personal level. Much like the breed he loves, his training style has shifted and changed through the years. The focus on his firster record might be a bit too much research on some of our parts.

“Personally, I don't want to win first-time out,” said Shirreffs in a text. “You never much learn about a horse's style when it is chased. When I trained for [Marshall Naify's] 505 [Farms], we won first-out quite often. I try not to make speed the priority [anymore].”

With his newest budding star, the focus was confidence building and not so much where she'd be early on. They had to give her someone to follow in the mornings, Shirreffs reported, and he was careful not to upset her by asking for something she didn't understand. And to address the big mare in the room, he maintains an accurate comparison is impossible off a single maiden win.

“Justique has the ability to make running appear effortless with her huge stride. Zenyatta had the ability to lengthen as she ran, getting longer and lower.”

Part and parcel with that huge stride, there was a lot to like about her long before her eye-catching first start. Her intelligent eye and quiet, steady demeanor made quite the impression at the September sale, especially so on Shirreffs's wife, Dottie Ingordo-Shirreffs. Justique was her favorite horse.

“It is interesting how much sale yearlings change from September to July. At the sale, she had the classic Thoroughbred appearance; long, great underline, clean legs, sharp intelligent eyes…I can still see her standing quietly, waiting as we inspected her. 'One more walk, please.' I bet she knows those words!”

Beyond her impressive physical, Justique gains the benefit of potential versatility hinted by her 'Rising Star' half-brother Mo Town (Uncle Mo), who successfully reinvented himself as a turf horse later in his career. In his sole start at the same venue as his half-sister's coming-out party, Mo Town ran down and out-kicked Channel Maker (English Channel) at the head of a salty GI Hollywood Derby field. To complete the circle, her connections won the 2021 edition of the race with Beyond Brilliant (Twirling Candy). Justique already shouldered the weight of expectation with her royalty-befitting price tag, but unlike many who share auction amounts in the high six-figure range, she's shown that there just might be something there.

Shifting focus to the East Coast, and from the faithful, fruitful grounds of Champions past, present, and future–known as Saratoga–emerged Prank (Into Mischief) for the partnership of StarLadies Racing, LNJ Foxwoods, and Gainesway Stable. The half-sister to GI Belmont S. winner Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo) gave her sire another monumental mark to his already legendary career by becoming his 33rd 'Rising Star', and the second on the weekend behind Newgate at Del Mar July 30. The 9 3/4-length gap on rivals, after burning through :21.91 and :45.11 fractions, further emphasized the ability running in the family, and she'll be the flag bearer for the moment with Mo Donegal on the sidelines to recover from bone bruising.

Earlier, on the same card, and more than able to hold her own on raw ability, came the aptly-named Be Your Best (Ire) (Muharaar {GB}). Sent away in a competitive field, and never in any hurry early, she certainly caught the eye as she cruised passed rivals into a six-furlong 1:14.29 split. Try as they might, the field could not catch her as Be Your Best bounded home as easily as she pleased for owner Mike Ryan and conditioner Horacio De Paz. The filly hails from an incredibly deep female family with no less than 10 graded stakes winners in it, including five filly Grade I winners and Canadian Champion 3-year-old filly Munnyfor Ro (Munnings). The latter recently placed in the GII Dance Smartly S. at Woodbine.

Saratoga and Del Mar in the summer are famous for attracting deep, talented fields of young horses. Be their beginnings humble or worthy of a throne, there is no greater thrill than seeing a runner justify the faith they've been entrusted with; solidified by recognition from peers and industry experts. It's not every day the TDN gives out three 'Rising Star' nods, but when there's talent, one cannot ignore the siren song.

The post Justique Is Lead In Last Sunday’s Triplet of Rising Star Fillies appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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What’s In a Name: Lady Clementine

Lady Clementine (GB) is a supremely fitting name for the Churchill (Ire) 3-year-old filly who won so well at Del Mar last Saturday.

Clementine Ogilvy Spencer Churchill, nee Hozier (1885-1977), was the wife of the famous British politician and WW2 leader for 56 intense and fateful years. “Fortitude” is an expression that seems to abound in a recent novelized account of the life of Lady Clementine. The union was a loving and successful one by all accounts, even if the husband had quite a reputation for being mercurial and unpredictable, as epitomized in the famous story of the back-and-forth with Lady Nancy Astor, where the statement, “If you were my husband, I'd poison your tea” was followed by the quick-witted repartee “Nancy, if I were your husband, I'd drink it!”

The filly in question “wide again around the far turn, bid three wide at the top of the lane and powered home along the outside”, says the racing report–so she may have some of her namesake's fortitude.

11th-Del Mar, $83,500, Msw, 7-30, 3yo/up, f/m, 1mT, 1:35.85, fm, 1 1/4 lengths.
LADY CLEMENTINE (GB) (f, 3, Churchill {Ire}–Wind Fire {MSW & MGSP-Eng, $201,294}, by Distorted Humor) Lifetime Record: 5-1-2-2, $55,141. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.
O-Marc Detampel & Fergus Galvin; B-The Wind Fire Partnership (GB); T-George Papaprodromou.

The post What’s In a Name: Lady Clementine appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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HISA Seeks Stay After Louisiana, West Virginia Ruling

Just six days after Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) opponents won a round in court in which a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction that halted implementation of HISA rules going into effect in Louisiana and West Virginia, HISA and the Federal Trade Commission were back in court Monday filing an emergency motion for a stay pending appeal.

The motion was filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

The filing from HISA maintains that when granting the preliminary injunction, the court erred in regards to the length of the period required for public comment. Lawyers for HISA contend that the Federal Trade Commission, which oversees HISA, has provided 14 days for public comment following its publication of proposed rules, which does not violate any rules. They contend that the “court mistakenly believed required the Commission to provide a minimum 30-day comment period.”

The filing continues: “A stay is warranted because that ruling rests on legal error and does not reflect a sound balancing of the equities. The APA (Administrative Procedure Act) imposes no minimum comment period, and the district court plainly erred in concluding otherwise.”

When granting an injunction to the plaintiffs, which included the Jockeys' Guild and the states of West Virginia and Louisiana, Judge Terry Doughty of U.S. District Court (Western District of Louisiana) did not appear to consider the public comment period a major factor in his decision. Instead, he focused on the plaintiffs allegations that HISA was causing them irreparable harm and that an injunction was needed while still other courts were deciding the constitutionality of the Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Act.

“Here, there is an obvious link between the HISA rules and Plaintiffs' alleged injuries,” Doughty wrote. “All the above alleged injuries are 'fairly traceable' to the rules enacted thus far by HISA and the FTC.”

Borrowing a page from their adversaries, HISA attorneys wrote that if they are not granted a stay and HISA regulations cannot immediately be implemented in West Virginia and Louisiana that “will cause grave and irreparable harm to the horseracing industry and the public in contravention of Congress's clear intent.” They called Doughty's decision a case of “flagrant judicial overreach.”

Two separate federal courts have already dismissed lawsuits from the same plaintiffs that include similar arguments made before Doughty's court and question whether or not HISA is constitutional. Both courts ruled in favor of HISA but those decisions have been appealed.

“The preliminary injunction is unlikely to survive appeal and, in the meantime, will cause irreparable damage to the Authority's ability to implement the Act in a timely and orderly fashion,” HISA's court filing reads.

The HISA filing relies on the same arguments that gave birth to the Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Act, that when it comes to integrity and safety, the industry was adrift, in need of change and that the best way to accomplish that was through a central authority.

“The importance of this program cannot be overstated as [the Authority] build[s] on advances the industry has already

made by implementing national, uniform rules and regulations, increasing accountability, and using data- and research-driven solutions to enhance the safety of our horses and jockeys,” the filing reads.

The filing concludes: “This Court should stay the order pending appeal as soon as possible, but no later than Aug. 5, 2022 (as the harm from the injunction mounts with each racing day).

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