However, U.S. District Court (Western District of Louisiana) Chief Judge Terry Doughty wrote in his Sept. 14 ruling that, “This Order shall not be considered a dismissal or disposition of this matter,” and that he was halting the case while the Fifth Circuit decision played out “without prejudice to the right of the parties to reopen the proceedings.”

This means the plaintiffs (the two states are joined by the Louisiana racing commission, the Louisiana HBPA, the Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association, West Virginia's racing commission, and five individuals regulated as “covered persons” under HISA) and the defendants (the HISA Authority, the Federal Trade Commission [FTC], plus overseers of both entities) must now await the decision–likely to be issued months from now–that will result from the Fifth Circuit oral arguments scheduled Oct. 4.

In 2 1/2 weeks, the National HBPA and 12 of its affiliates will be trying to prove claims that the 2022 rewrite of the HISA law remains “patently unconstitutional,” and that the Authority overseeing the sport “is basically a private police department” whose sweeping powers equate to “oligarchic tyranny.”

The HISA Authority and the FTC will go into those same arguments backed by a lower court's opinion issued in May that ruled HISA is indeed constitutional, because “Congress cured the unconstitutional aspects of HISA's original approach.”

It's also on the judicial record that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit upheld the constitutionality of HISA back in March.

One day prior to Judge Doughty's ruling, Magistrate Judge David Ayo wrote in a report that recommended staying the Louisiana case that the multiple, overlapping anti-HISA lawsuits currently swirling in the court system are clogging federal dockets.

“After an exhaustive review of the landscape of suits challenging the Act, this Court concludes that [an amended complaint the plaintiffs had filed] is the result of deliberate strategy” that equated to “an abuse of procedure and an impermissible use of judicial resources,” Judge Ayo wrote in his Sept. 13 report.

The original lawsuit in this case was filed June 29, 2022, alleging that HISA violates the Fourth, Seventh and Tenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, plus the Administrative Procedure Act, which governs the process by which federal agencies develop and issue regulations.

The post Judge Halts Anti-HISA Suit in Louisiana Pending Outcome of HBPA Case in U.S. Appeals Court appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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As the appellants in a lawsuit that has persisted in the federal court system for more than 27 months, the HBPA plaintiffs were allowed to file the first briefing in a landmark case for the Thoroughbred industry that has been put on an expedited schedule by the Fifth Circuit.

The defendants, who are personnel from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the HISA Authority, have 30 days to craft a reply. They will make their filing knowing that a lower court in Texas has already ruled that an amended version of HISA is constitutionally compliant because it fixed defects that the Fifth Circuit had previously identified. The HISA law has also been upheld as constitutional in a separate lawsuit initiated by different plaintiffs that got validated on appeal to the Sixth Circuit.

In a 72-page brief filed July 5, the HBPA appellants laid out an argument based on the premise that the rewritten HISA statute that got signed into law late in 2022 still doesn't pass the constitutional sniff test.

“This Court has already struck down HISA once before,” the HBPA filing stated. “Then Congress tweaked the law in one respect, giving the FTC a modicum of additional power over the original design. Though it is understandable to desire to applaud 'a productive dialogue' between the branches, this Court's job is not to reward Congress for passing a marginally less unconstitutional law by declaring it constitutional. Laws do not get passing grades for improved effort. Nor is constitutional analysis like horseshoes or hand grenades, where close–or even just slightly closer–is good enough.”

The HBPA filing continued: “This Court's job is to again tell Congress–'No.'”

Central to the HBPA's case is the principle in administrative law that Congress cannot delegate its legislative powers to other entities. In their brief, the horsemen argue that the HISA Authority is a private entity subject to that “private nondelegation” doctrine, and that it is wrong to intentionally grant it powers that evade the safeguards of constitutional design.

“An alternative way to think about private nondelegation is not to ask about the quantity of supervision authorized, but the quality of the powers delegated. This question is not how much surveillance and authority the FTC has, but what type of power the Authority wields,” the HBPA filing stated.

“HISA is directly contrary to the historical understanding of private delegation. Ultimately the corporation is named the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, and not Advisors or Administrators, because its purpose is not to advise the FTC or perform ministerial tasks. Its purpose is to exercise sovereign national authority [and] giving such governmental authority to a private corporation was and remains 'delegation in its most obnoxious form.'”

The HBPA filing put it this way: “The Authority establishes the programs, drafts the rules, makes policy decisions, exercises enforcement discretion, investigates individuals, seizes evidence, prosecutes industry participants, sits in judgment on them, issues sanctions, decides how much it wants to spend, and then decides how much it will take in taxes to fund that spending.

“It does all of this without appointment of its board members by the president, confirmation of those board members by the Senate, appropriation of its funds or authorization of its fees by Congress, review of its investigatory requests by a federal magistrate, or transparency to the industry and the public through accountability laws like the Freedom of Information Act, Federal Advisory Committees Act, or Government in the Sunshine Act.”

The first time the HBPA plaintiffs attempted to challenge the original 2020 version of the HISA statute in federal court, on Mar. 15, 2021, the suit was dismissed more than a year later, on March 31, 2022.

The HBPA plaintiffs then appealed, leading to a Fifth Circuit Court reversal on Nov. 18, 2022, that remanded the case back to the lower court. In the interim, an amended version of HISA got signed into law on Dec. 29, 2022.

On May 4, 2023, the lower court deemed that the new version of HISA was constitutional. The HBPA plaintiffs swiftly filed another appeal back to the Fifth Circuit, which is where the case stands now.

The HBPA filing stated that, “this Court should approach the amended statute with a clean slate and hold it up to the high bar set for a delegation of government power to a private actor, as enunciated in its prior opinion. If this Court does so, it will see that the act again fails. Even as amended, the statute does not give the FTC pervasive surveillance and control over the HISA Authority.”

At a different point in the filing, the HBPA took umbrage with HISA's funding mechanisms.

“The powers to set taxes and spend tax funds are legislative powers. The Authority has the power to tax–it is empowered by HISA to set a mandatory assessment that either states pay, or if states decline to pay, then covered persons must pay directly. This is a tax….These funds are not voluntary or charitable contributions from covered persons and states–these are mandatory, obligatory fees levied by law. Failure to pay them can result in fines and suspension from racing. Once these funds are collected, HISA allows the Authority to spend them without any FTC oversight.”

Enforcement is also constitutionally problematic for the HBPA.

“The Authority has the power to search and inspect 'offices, racetrack facilities, other places of business, books, records, and personal property of covered persons that are used in the care, treatment, training, and racing of covered horses,' to issue subpoenas, to compel truthful and complete answers to inquiries, to undertake urine and blood tests without advance notice, and to exercise 'other investigatory powers of the nature and scope exercised by State racing commissions,' which the Authority has apparently defined to include the power to seize evidence….

“By contrast,” the filing continued, “if the FTC wanted to conduct a search or seize evidence, it would need a warrant from a magistrate. For the Authority to conduct a search or seize evidence, it doesn't even have to let the FTC know, little less secure the advance approval of a federal magistrate. This is an unconstitutional mutation of executive power. The Authority also has the power to hold administrative hearings, weigh evidence, decide guilt, and issue sanctions. These are also executive powers…

“As a result, under the terms of the statute, horsemen are investigated and subpoenaed and their property is seized with zero pre-clearance from a federal official, little less an independent magistrate,” the filing stated.

The HISA and FTC defendants now have the opportunity to file their own brief with the Fifth Circuit Court by Aug. 4.

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The purpose was simple: to address a system that lacked integrity. Before HISA, horsemen endured a dysfunctional state-to-state patchwork of rules which were inconsistently enforced. Thanks to the input of horsemen, owners, breeders, jockeys, racetrack operators, veterinary experts, regulators, and other industry participants across the country, HISA has established a fair, transparent, efficient, and economically sound approach to improving the integrity and safety of the sport. This includes uniform rules and regulations across all states that are in line with international standards, swift adjudication protocols, and a robust anti-doping program and medication controls.

Unfortunately, when presented with this opportunity to finally achieve meaningful reform, certain groups have responded by obstructing the path forward. Rather than offer constructive input, these groups have chosen instead to spread misinformation and drain precious industry resources with costly litigation. Some of those funding the opposition do not even care about racing and are using the debate over HISA as an opportunity to further their own political interests. Enough is enough.

Chief among the offenders is the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association. For example, the HBPA falsely claims HISA will put small entities out of business due to the costs associated with implementation. In fact, HISA specifically requires that regional differences are considered; accordingly, its governing body is addressing disparities between large and small operations and helping to identify operational efficiencies that will mitigate any increased costs.

The truth is, the HBPA has offered no solution that adequately addresses the full scope of the industry's issues, nor does it have any desire to represent its members who support meaningful reform. This has made us wonder who the HBPA really is, and why they don't want more effective controls on safety and drug use. Many in our industry don't know that the HBPA and its affiliate groups consider anyone who obtains an ownership license to automatically be a “member” of their organization. Instead of offering members the ability to provide input on its decisions, the HBPA's insular leadership has weaponized its industry position to oppose vital reform aimed at protecting the very people it claims it represents.

We urge any HBPA members who have horse racing's best interests at heart to come to the table and engage with HISA's leaders in pursuit of sustainable change. Follow the example of leaders from a variety of organizations, including the Thoroughbred Owners of California, Kentucky Thoroughbred Association, Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association. These groups have stepped forward with constructive input and have provided their members with information and support to make the transition to new regulations as seamless as possible.

At the Breeders' Cup, we have seen first-hand the success that comes with investing in safety and integrity measures. Because of the trust we have built, we have attracted top-tier national and international media rights partners, developed relationships with major new corporate partners, achieved record wagering numbers, and experienced a significant increase in international participation. A sport rich in integrity is going to thrive.

Breeders need owners who want to invest in horses. Owners need trainers to turn raw athleticism into speed and endurance. Trainers need jockeys, exercise riders, grooms, farriers, and dedicated veterinarians to help execute their programs and keep their horses safe and healthy. Everyone needs racetracks to provide the stages on which our athletes compete and where fans who love racing can gather to cheer on their favorites. And we all know bettors are the backbone of the business, as their wagering supports racetrack operations and purses. They deserve to bet on races that are fair.

Under HISA, uniform safety and integrity measures will ensure all participants can be part of racing's growth and success. Adjusting to the oversight of a national, independent authority may take time, but traditions must evolve if they want to endure. Although Thoroughbred racing has a long and storied past, it will only have a bright future if we make safety and integrity our top priorities through united reform.

HISA has been put in place to provide an opportunity for the sport not only to survive, but to thrive. If you want to see horse racing carry on for generations to come, please join us as we work together to ensure HISA's successful implementation.

Sincerely,

Barbara Banke , Chairman, Breeders' Cup Limited

Drew Fleming, President and CEO, Breeders' Cup Limited

The post Letter to the Industry: Breeders’ Cup: HISA is Common Sense appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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On Friday, the anti-HISA parties filed what is known as a “motion to intervene” in United States District Court (Western District of Louisiana). If accepted by the judge, it would grant the petitioners status in the case alongside the lead plaintiffs from the states of Louisiana and West Virginia.

An “intervenor” designation allows outside parties who have a personal stake in the outcome of a civil suit to participate in a case, even if their interests don't align exactly with those of the original plaintiffs.

“[Our] interests will be seriously impaired if Defendants prevail in their effort to enforce the enjoined HISA Rules beyond Louisiana and West Virginia,” the movants wrote in their Aug. 12 court filing. “Intervenors are not adequately represented by the parties to this action. Intervenors therefore respectfully request that this Court grant their motion to intervene as plaintiffs to protect their and their members' interests.

“Specifically, Intervenors seek to ensure that HISA does not kneecap the horseracing industry as a whole or themselves with the implementation and enforcement of defective HISA Rules,” the filing continued.

HISA and the FTC have consistently denied the allegations listed in the underlying June 29 lawsuit, which was filed two days before the federally mandated July 1 start date for HISA's first set of rules.

“Plaintiffs' eleventh-hour challenge to those rules on the eve of the statutory deadline [is an] emergency of their own making,” the defendants wrote in court documents just after the complaint was filed, noting that the plaintiffs waited a full three months after the approval of the rules to challenge them in court as being immediately harmful.

The HBPA affiliates wanting in on the suit are Arizona, Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Kentucky, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Washington, Charles Town and Tampa Bay Downs. The Colorado Horse Racing Association, which is that state's statutorily recognized horsemen's group for all racing breeds, also wants to be an intervenor.

Three of the four opting-in racetracks are in Nebraska: Fonner Park, Horsemen's Park, and the recently approved racino that will go by the name Legacy Downs. The fourth is Arizona's Turf Paradise.

The North American Association of Racetrack Veterinarians, plus the state of Oklahoma and its racing commission, round out the list of potential intervenors.

“Intervenors seek to join this action to protect their interests and those of their members or citizens in avoiding severe economic harms to the horseracing industry generally and to Intervenors specifically through the enforcement of HISA Rules that suffer from fatal procedural and substantive defects,” the Aug. 12 filing stated.

“Intervenors further seek intervention to address HISA's exercise of regulatory power against Intervenors and the threat of severe sanctions that HISA is currently imposing on Intervenors,” the filing continued.

“Intervenors interests may not–indeed, will not–be adequately represented by the existing parties because they have a different ultimate objective from the [existing plaintiffs] by covering a different portion of the United States and of the horseracing industry,” the filing stated.

Beyond the states of Louisiana and West Virginia, the Jockeys' Guild and various Louisiana-based “covered persons” under HISA rule are the existing plaintiffs.

Friday's motion to intervene asked for “expedited” consideration. But that might not be possible because aspects of the underlying lawsuit have been appealed to a higher court.

When cases go under appeal, the lower-court judge has limited power to change anything in the underlying case until the appeals process has been completed. The movants in Friday's filing wrote that they recognized that fact.

“Of course, Intervenors understand that though this Court's preliminary injunction order is on appeal to the Fifth Circuit, which partially stayed the injunction pending the outcome of an expedited appeal,” the filing stated. “At a minimum, the Court could hold the motion to intervene in abeyance, pending the resolution of the appeal.”

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“When we seek out our keynote speaker, we look for inspiration and passion,” said Eric Hamelback, chief executive officer of the National Horsemen's Benevolent & Protective Association. “Not only do we get that in spades with D. Wayne Lukas, but his overall legacy is unmatched in horse racing.

“Yet it's not only that Wayne has impacted so many aspects of racing with his well-known accomplishments and vision. He also has been an extraordinary ambassador for our industry in so many unpublicized and behind-the-scenes ways. There's no telling how many little kids will become diehard racing enthusiasts because D. Wayne invited them into the winner's circle after one of his victories.”

Lukas will address the convention on March 2, the first full day of the HBPA convention at Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort in Hot Springs, Ark. Details on registration and agenda will be available soon at nationalhbpa.com. The convention, staged in Oaklawn's new hotel overlooking the track's first turn, kicks off March 1 with a cocktail reception at the track, with program sessions March 2, 3 and the morning of March 4, followed by an afternoon at the races. The HBPA's full board convenes March 5 to wrap up the event.

“This is a step forward for me to be involved in a horsemen's association as strong as the HBPA,” said Lukas, long known as horse racing's No. 1 motivational speaker. “I'm looking forward to it. I'll try to stimulate them and give the attendees a good feeling as to where we're going and what's about to happen. All of my speeches try to influence people as to what their capabilities are and how to enjoy them.

“I'm 86. Very few men or women in that room will be 86. So I've been where they haven't: I've been 45, 50, 60, 70 and they haven't. I want to bring that experience — good and bad — about our industry to the table.”

In a Thoroughbred career that began in 1974 when he was a leading Quarter Horse trainer, Lukas set record after record. That includes being the first trainer to earn $100 million and then $200 million in purses, possessing the most Breeders' Cup victories (20), the most Triple Crown race wins (14, before being passed by Bob Baffert) and a record 26 individual horses to be crowned an Eclipse Award champion, including three that were voted Horse of the Year.

Lukas has won both the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes four times and the Preakness six times, most recently with Oxbow in 2013 at age 77. He is the only trainer to sweep the Triple Crown races in one year with two different horses and at one stage won a record six consecutive Triple Crown races (1994 Preakness through the 1996 Derby). Lukas also is the only trainer enshrined in both the National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame (1999) for Thoroughbreds and the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame (2007).

The basketball coach turned horse trainer transformed American racing at the top end, meshing a more corporate-focused approach to a tireless work ethic.

His divisions across the country shared a certain look and feel. The pristine barn, surrounded by immaculate landscaping, with polished tack boxes and shedrow raked in a herringbone pattern became part of a marketing strategy and attention to detail designed to appeal to affluent owners. Lukas made white bridles famous and sparked the handicapping maxim “Wayne off the plane” for flying horses around the country for big stakes, seemingly going straight from touch down to winner's circle.

Aspiring to get as many of his clients to the big races as possible, Lukas never hesitated to run stablemates against each other, saying they had to beat the best to be the best. That included when his 2-year-old champion Timber Country beat 1995 Kentucky Derby winner Thunder Gulch in the Preakness, perhaps costing himself a Triple Crown sweep as Thunder Gulch went on to win the Belmont Stakes.

“We'll never see another trainer like Wayne — certainly not one who at age 86 not only competes at a high level but is still accompanying every set to the track on his pony,” Hamelback said. “There are Hall of Famers, there are icons, and there is D. Wayne Lukas.”

The HBPA convention also will include legal topics and discussions centering on the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act, scheduled to go into effect July 1 amid serious questions and court challenges; crisis-management recommendations; creating positive interactions with local, state and federal representatives; utilizing the guest-worker visa programs; fixed odds' place in American racing, and the annual Kent Stirling Memorial Medication Panel addressing the need for screening limits.

Also: Louis Cella, president of Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort, will address the assembly on March 4; the HBPA's Claiming Horse of the Year for 2021 will be honored; and Friday the 4th, Oaklawn and the Arkansas HBPA will host an afternoon at the races for conference participants.

“The HBPA convention is designed to provide or work toward solutions for complex issues facing the industry, while also sharing information and programs that make a difference,” Hamelback said. “We can't thank Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort management and staff and the Arkansas HBPA enough for all their assistance in staging what we are proud to call one of the industry's most informative gatherings.”

The post D. Wayne Lukas Will Deliver Keynote Address At National HBPA Convention appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Which is exactly why every honest horsemen should be 100% behind the Horseracing Integrity Safety and Integrity Act (HISA). It will give them a fighting chance.

HISA is not a magic bullet and it will not solve all of the sport's problems. Cheating will never go away totally. What HISA will do is to usher in a competent, effective system to police the sport. Instead of relying on each individual state and a system of drug testing that never really catches anybody, the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) will take over, responsible for leveling what has been, for far too long, an uneven playing field. There is no doubt that USADA is going to make it a lot harder to get away with cheating.

Many prominent horsemen have come out in favor of HISA, but their voice was drowned out by the news that broke Monday that the National HBPA, along with 11 individual state horsemen's groups, was suing to put the brakes on HISA. This would be like Citibank suing for more lenient penalties for bank robbers. It makes absolutely no sense.

The lawsuit was filed by the Liberty Justice Center, which calls itself a non-profit public-interest litigation center that was founded to fight against political privilege. In a statement the group released Monday, USADA was never mentioned. Instead, the group contended that HISA is unconstitutional and, therefore, should be struck down.

It's hard to imagine that there is one horsemen anywhere who cares one bit whether or not HISA is unconstitutional or not. Instead, one is left to connect the dots and after doing so, it wouldn't be hard to reach the conclusion that the only reason to have HISA overturned would be that they prefer the status quo over a new system under the control of USADA. That is to say that they are fine with a system that rewards cheats at the expense of the very people who make up the majority of their membership. Trainers and owners represented by the groups that are part of the suit should be outraged.

It's not at all clear that the actions taken by the National HBPA and its affiliate groups even have the backing of the majority of horsemen nationwide. Many prominent trainers and owners have been outspoken in their belief that something must change and that HISA is the best route out of this morass. And several key state horsemen's groups were nowhere to be found among the press releases and statements issued Monday. Some of them have, in fact, come out in favor of HISA.

That doesn't mean that there aren't trainers who side with the HBPAs. The National HBPA issued a press release that included comments of support from a handful of owners or trainers, among them Ron Moquett, who said, “My job is to take care of horses and the people who help me take care of horses. I don't see how this does any of that. I definitely agree there are some things we should do to better the industry. But this legislation takes you down a bunch of back, curvy roads where you don't know where you're going. Change for the sake of change does not solve problems and is likely to create new ones.”

Moquett is exactly the type of trainer who should enthusiastically support HISA. There's every reason to believe that he is as honest as they come. The trainer of the venerable Whitmore (Pleasantly Perfect), he has never been involved in any sort of scandal and his lifetime winning rate of 12% suggests that his horses are running on nothing more than hay, oats and water. It's the Ron Moquetts of the world who are getting pounded by those who have a chemical edge. If he does not believe that he has never been beaten by a cheater, I suggest that he is hopelessly naive. It's probably happened dozens, if not hundreds, of times.

The backers of HISA, including The Jockey Club, seem confident that the horsemen's lawsuit will eventually end in defeat. That doesn't mean there won't be damage done. HISA is supposed to go in effect by July 1, 2022. Because of the lawsuit, that date could be in jeopardy. If the HBPAs and the Liberty Justice Center want to go to the mat on this one, they very well could tie things up for years in the courts. That would do demonstrable harm to a sport that is trying to clean up its act and send a message to its many critics that it takes the issues of doping and horse safety very seriously.

A horsemen's group should be looking out for all of its members, which means it should be leading the fight for integrity. That they are standing in its way is very sad.

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“This new group that is being formed is unchecked in how much they can charge us as the state of Iowa in order to actually regulate the racing industry within the state,” Moss told radioiowa.com. “There's going to be a reckoning coming — we're going to be in a tough position. We may reach out and request something of your assistance to try and help stop this from being implemented.”

By law, the latest HISA can go into effect is July 1, 2022. The previously formed nominating committee is in the process of selecting the nine members who will comprise the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (five independent members from outside of the horse industry, four from within the industry but without current investments or conflicts of interest). The Authority has been charged with contracting with the United States Anti-Doping Agency to oversee the anti-doping/medication control program on a national basis.

Two working committees also will be named. For more information on what comes next, read answers to frequently asked questions, as supplied by Marc Summers, vice president and general counsel for The Jockey Club, which helped steer the legislation through Congress.

Read more at radioiowa.com.

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Leroy Gessmann, who serves as both the NHBPA president and as Arizona HBPA’s executive director, told commissioners at the Oct. 8 Arizona Racing Commission (AZRC) meeting that “this thing is being ramrodded right now by [U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch] McConnell…. We feel this thing is unconstitutional, just as the ban on sports betting was unconstitutional. We have the same attorneys looking into it.”

Gessmann did not speak in specifics about which aspects of the bill the NHBPA considered unconstitutional. Nor did he outline what the purported similarities were to the federal ban on sports betting that got overturned by a 2018 U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

Although previous versions of the Integrity Act have existed in the House of Representatives since 2015, the Senate version of the HISA (SB 4547) that was introduced by McConnell Sept. 9 has language that now matches the amended House version that passed with bipartisan support Sept. 29. As the majority leader, McConnell determines which bills come up for action in the Senate, and the longtime Kentucky legislator has consistently indicated he’s strongly in favor of a vote on HISA happening prior to the end of the current legislative session.

Gessmann’s comments came 22 minutes into an AZRC presentation last Thursday that detailed possible implications of the HISA on the sport’s regulation in Arizona. He was asked by the commission if he’d like to speak on the issue, and to clarify if he’d be commenting personally or as an HBPA representative.

“I’m going to speak on this topic as the National HBPA president,” Gessmann said. “Although there are a few good things in this bill, there’s a lot of concerns…. There’s been a version of this bill for six years in the House, and it’s never gone anywhere. And then when McConnell teamed up with Keeneland, Churchill, The Jockey Club, this thing all of a sudden took off.

“National HBPA is against this bill because of the Lasix issue [and] because of the formation of the Authority,” Gessmann said. “The Authority is made up of nine members, and they are appointed, they’re not elected [and] they can have nothing to do with the horse industry. They can have no experience or be involved in any way in the horse industry. [So] how [you] take people that don’t know anything about a horse and put them in charge of such an operation is beyond me.

“The other key issue [is] the expense of this is going to be a burden on the horsemen,” Gessmann continued. “Every start, you’re going to be assessed. The tracks are going to be assessed, and the state is going to be assessed to pay for this Authority and to oversee this thing on a national basis. Although we feel as horsemen the safety of the tracks are important, [there] is going to be major concerns with the safety of the racetracks, especially in Arizona.”

Gessmann did not elaborate on why Arizona, in particular, would face outsized concerns about racetrack safety.

At a later point in the discussion, Gessmann was asked how McConnell’s re-election bid factored into the outcome of the HISA bill.

“McConnell is trying to get it passed through in the ‘lame duck’ session before it ends, before his term ends,” Gessmann said. “If they don’t get it done in the lame duck session, then the bill dies, and they have to start all over.”

GovTrack, a legislative transparency organization that uses logistic regression analysis to rank the likelihood of passage of the 10,000 bills that come up annually in Congress, currently gives HR 1754 a 63% chance of being enacted.

SB 4547 is ranked at 21% chance to be enacted. The discrepancy between the two numbers no doubt reflects that the House version has already been passed by that chamber; McConnell’s considerable political clout is apparently not factored into the algorithm.

Either way, both prediction rates are astounding considering that GovTrack gave the Integrity Act only a 2% chance of being enacted when the first version of the bill debuted back in 2015.

An Unlikely 0-Fer

Considering his dauntingly long list of graded-stakes-winning achievements, it was a bit of  surprise to learn that trainer Todd Pletcher had been shut out of the GI Jockey Club Gold Cup until Saturday, when ‘TDN Rising Star’ Happy Saver (Super Saver) shot through at the rail to claw out a three-quarter-length victory in the traditional season-capping highlight of the Belmont Park autumn meet.

According to the count by the New York Racing Association press department, Pletcher had been 0-for-23 in the Jockey Club Gold Cup, with seven second-place finishes.

That included last year’s version of the Gold Cup, in which Vino Rosso crossed the wire first but was disqualified and placed second for causing interference in the stretch. (Vino Rosso avenged that DQ by winning the GI Breeders’ Cup Classic in his next start).

“Not only had we not won it, we’d suffered some really close defeats. And then throw in a disqualification on top of that, and it’s been a frustrating one over the years,” Pletcher said. “This one was fun. It’s one of the races that has been hard on us. We’ve had some tough losses and it was very fulfilling to win it today.”

Five of those runner-up efforts were by margins of a length or less, including near-misses by Lawyer Ron to Curlin (a neck in 2007) and by Newfoundland to Funny Cide (three-quarters of a length in 2004).

BC Juvenile Getting Interesting

With a pair of undefeated colts now on a collision course for the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, the premier campaign-capping race for 2-year-old males is shaping up to be one of the more anticipated showdowns on the docket for the Nov. 6-7 championships at Keeneland.

Jackie’s Warrior (Maclean’s Music) commandeered the early pace in confident fashion, then was hand-ridden home after edging away under pressure in the stretch to romp home by 5 1/2 lengths in Saturday’s GI Champagne S. at Belmont. He’s now a perfect four-for-four and looms as the top East Coast-based juvenile heading to Lexington.

It’s presumed he’ll vie for favoritism in the Juvenile with home-court hopeful Essential Quality (Tapit), a ‘TDN Rising Star’ who broke his maiden by four lengths when favored on the GI Kentucky Derby undercard, then pasted the GI Breeders’ Futurity field at Keeneland Oct. 3 by employing assertive, pace-pressing tactics to engineer an at-will 3 1/2-length score.

The Juvenile itself is very much in need of a reboot after last year’s edition proved to be one of the weakest in the race’s history. Storm the Court (Court Vision) was the $93.80 winner. But he, and the race’s other top four finishers, have yet to win another race.

In fact, the field of eight that contested last year’s Juvenile now stands as a collective 2-for-33. The only horses to subsequently visit the winner’s circle have been the Japan-based Full Flat (Speightstown), who won the Saudi Derby Cup in Saudi Arabia back on Feb. 29, and Shoplifted (Into Mischief), who won the Springboard Mile at Remington Park last Dec. 15.

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Chamblin played an instrumental role in the passage of the Interstate Horse Racing Act of 1978 and the Pari-Mutual Licensing Simplification Act of 1988, and later became an early supporter of federal legislation intended to align U.S. equine medication policies with International standards. He served in a number of executive capacities during his nearly 50-year career in the horse racing industry

As chief executive of the Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (HBPA) from 1965-1983, Chamblin oversaw the only horsemen’s organization of its kind in North America. While headquartered near Washington, D.C., Chamblin played an instrumental role in the passage of the Interstate Horse Racing Act of 1978, a bill that has generated billions of dollars in purse money for owners and trainers and racetrack operators over the past 42 years.

From 1983-86 and at the urging of local horsemen, Chamblin took the helm at Finger Lakes Racetrack in New York. During his tenure, Finger Lakes became one of the first racetracks in the nation to introduce whole card simulcasting. Chamblin also introduced twilight racing and Pick Six wagering to Finger Lakes.

From 1986-2001, Chamblin served as the chief executive of the Association of Racing Commissioners’ International (ARCI) and along the way, traveled the world promoting U.S. horse racing interests. His work took him to more than 100 racetracks in the United States and Canada. As an ambassador for racing, Chamblin was asked to speak on the industry in the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, Mexico, France, the Middle East, Australia, South America, South Africa and Russia, among other countries.

Born May 15, 1939 in Flora, Illinois, Chamblin graduated from Milliken University in Decatur, Ill. before becoming the youngest sports editor in the country of a paper with over 100,000 in circulation (Evansville Courier & Press). During his early career as a sports writer and editor Chamblin won the U.S. Basketball Writers award, U.S. Football Writers award, and wrote for Sports Illustrated and Newsweek. He has written and edited four books, and also wrote the History of Thoroughbred Racing for World Book Encyclopedia.

Chamblin, who died of congestive heart failure, is survived by his wife of 31 years, Debbie; two daughters, Margaret McClintock (Tampa) and Kaitlin Chamblin (Lexington); a son, Keith (Lexington) and six grandchildren. A celebration of Chamblin’s life will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family requests any donations be made to Old Friends Thoroughbred Retirement Farm (www.oldfriendsequine.org).

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