horseracing integrity and safety authority | Horse Racing Free Tips

Horseracing Integrity And Safety Act Signed Into Law

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act is now law.

The legislation passed by the Senate on Dec. 21 that will put anti-doping/medication control and safety programs under the umbrella of one independent, non-governmental Authority, the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act was part of a 5,500-plus page, $2.3 trillion bipartisan government funding bill that included $900 billion in coronavirus relief extending unemployment benefits and providing up to $600 in cash payments to individuals. President Donald Trump, whose Treasury Department officials helped negotiate the package, had threatened to veto the bill, in part demanding that the $600 individual benefits be increased to $2,000.

On Sunday night, Trump signed the bill into law.

A previously formed nominating committee can now move forward in naming 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.

Passage of the legislation, originally supported by the grassroots Water Hay Oats Alliance and sponsored in the House of Representatives by Democrat Paul Tonko of New York and Repubolcian Andy Barr of Kentucky, was years in the making. It got fast-tracked earlier this year when Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell threw his support behind it after Churchill Downs came on board and joined with other major racing organizations. It passed the House in September on a voice vote and was part of the omnibus bill passed overwhelmingly by the Senate Dec. 21.

The omnibus legislation that is now law includes other measures beneficial to the horse industry, including continuation of H-2B visa programs for foreign workers and extension of three-year tax depreciation for purchase of racehorses and COVID relief for small businesses in the horse business.

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Irwin: Independent Overseer Will Ensure Integrity

What's the big deal about the new racing legislation?

When I called for horseracing to find a way to install the United States Anti-Doping Agency as the overseer of drugs in an Op/Ed for The Blood-Horse back in 2004, I did so with some specific goals in mind. My overriding reason, however, was to have an agency that was independent.

Now that USADA will be given the job, nobody knows whether the hopes and dreams of those who worked so tirelessly to make USADA's presence a reality will be fully accomplished. One thing that everybody in the sport can be sure of is that special interests will no longer be able to tilt the playing fields or the halls of justice.

Over the years people have asked me why special interests fought so hard to keep the legislation from being enacted. The answers are many but they all boil down to unethical participants in racing being stopped from running their games and not paying any price when they get caught.

As I explained to my peers who fought side by side to bring the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act to fruition, the one thing the bill's opponents dread is that when they or members of their team get caught breaking the rules they will be unable to find a way in a boardroom, steward's stand, men's club or corporate office to obtain a favorable outcome.

Anybody paying the least bit of attention to what is going on right now will know exactly what I am writing about. An unbeaten young stallion's reputation is on the line in an ongoing battle that involved a racing board, a steward's office and selective interpretation of rules. Another case is going through the adjudication process involving a positive for a banned substance and a bonus reportedly worth millions of dollars.

We have all seen horsemen and owners break rules yet escape with favorable rulings or slaps on the wrist.

At the same time we have seen trainers cheat with impunity and watched as those charged with the responsibility of going after them sit on their hands or shrug their shoulders. Why, one may wonder, would racetracks, stewards, medical directors and racing boards protect the guilty?

Well, they all have conflicts of interest. Racetracks all think that it is trainers who bring in owners and racetracks need owners to supply their racing cards. Stewards, by and large, are concerned first and foremost with keeping their jobs and they learn early on in their tenure that the best way to accomplish this goal is not to rock the boat. Racing boards, like racetracks, are loath to bring cheating trainers to justice for fear of tarnishing the sport, as though by the cheating trainers' actions they had not done so already.

I really hate to have to write this next part of this Op/Ed because it is so embarrassing to racing, but I humbly submit to you that some owners at the highest level of the sport only participate because they can game the system and get away with it.

And these people, as well as their trainers, live in mortal fear of not being able to find a get-out-of-jail card after they break the rules. They count on this aspect of the sport. They know the tracks will not turn them in. And plenty of others feel the same way.

So what scares the hell out of these miscreants is an agency like USADA headed by a world-renown sports cop being in charge, because they know Travis Tygart is not going to roll over and play dead.

Owners and trainers who play by the rules in the main understand how important and liberating this concept is and can be, but there have been others—especially trainers—who have fought against the legislation. They don't want trainers held up to scrutiny or caught and adjudicated because these innocent horsemen think that all of them will be unfairly painted with the same brush. It is the same philosophy engaged in by racetracks, who worry racing will be put in a bad light by trainers being exposed as cheats.

Nothing could be further from the truth. It is only when a sport takes itself seriously, like Major League Baseball has done from time to time, that it can thrive and soar to new heights of popularity.

As important as it is for fans and gamblers to believe in the integrity of racing, it is just as important for owners and trainers to believe in it as well. In a sport well-managed and adjudicated, pride of ownership can return in North America and trainers can once again go to restaurants or walk in the front door of their house carrying a Daily Racing Form without fear of embarrassment.

So, yeah, passage of the “Integrity” aspect of the new law is a big deal. It is, in fact, such a big deal that it might very well save our sport.

Passage of the bill, it must be said in closing, is only the beginning. In order for USADA to be successful it must rely on assistance from ethical owners and trainers. So instead of mimicking silent officials in racing who sat by and let cheating take place, we will need owners to report on a new hotline any instances they know of regarding cheating so that Travis Tygart and his team can root out evil wherever they find it.

I have every faith that owners will comply, and some faith that a lot of trainers will comply. I do, however, fear that the code of silence among those of the current generation will prevail and make USADA's job harder. Perhaps as in many things today the next generation will save our sorry asses, because in order to keep this sport on the level and make it fair for everybody, help will be required.

Barry Irwin is founder and chief executive officer of Team Valor International.

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What Happens Next? Interstate Horseracing Integrity And Safety Act FAQs

With Monday's late-night passage of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act as part of an omnibus government spending bill, there are many questions about when the newly created Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority will begin to take shape and begin its national oversight of medication policies and safety standards for the sport, how it will be governed, and what it will cost.

To get answers to some of the most frequently asked questions, we went to Marc Summers, vice president and general counsel for The Jockey Club, which helped steer the legislation through the United States House of Representatives and Senate.

When will the Authority be operational?
By law, the latest it can go into effect is July 1, 2022, and it could be much earlier than that. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will first have to approve the anti-doping and medication control program and racetrack safety program. The FTC will review programs developed by the Authority, allow for public comment, and once approved it will go into effect.

Once President Trump signs the legislation, what happens next?
The key will be for the previously established nominating committee to continue their work, looking at all suggestions received from the industry and public about who should fill the nine positions on the Authority board of directors. Five of the board members will fill independent seats, with four seats to be filled by industry representatives – from among owners, breeders, trainers, racetracks, veterinarians, state racing commissions and jockeys. No more than one from each equine constituency group is permitted on the board at any time. Industry representatives on the board may not currently serve as an official or officer with an of equine industry representative group or have a financial interest in, or provide goods and services to, covered horses.

The board chairman shall be an independent member.

Two standing committees – an anti-doping and medication control committee and a racetrack safety committee – will also be appointed with four independent members and three industry members. The chair of the anti-doping and medication control committee shall be an independent member and the chair of the safety committee shall be an industry member.

How soon could the board and committee members be in place?
Summers said he is not counsel to the Authority but understands the nominating committee may have a board in place during the first quarter of 2021, with committee memberships to follow.

When and how does the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) come into play?
USADA is identified within the bill as the anti-doping and medication control enforcement entity. What will get them directly involved is execution of an agreement between the Authority and USADA, but the Authority's board will have to be in place before that happens.

When will it be determined exactly what the cost will be to racing participants?
That's going to evolve. There will be an initial budget for the Authority covering 2021. But until the anti-doping and medication control and racetrack safety programs go live, the Authority will not be assessing the states. More will be known early in 2022.

There is a misconception that the Authority's cost will be allocated to individual members on a per-start basis. That is not true. Budgets will be allocated to individual states based upon the total anticipated number of starts in that state for the succeeding year, and it will be up to each state to determine how the money will be raised and whether a per-start fee or some other form of calculation will be used.

Will riding crop rules fall under the safety aspect of the Authority? What other activities would the Authority regulate?
Riding crop rules would fall within this in that it involves in-race and workout safety. There also may be some rules regarding racetrack surfaces, pre-race vet exams and such.

What opportunities are there for horsemen to have input with the Authority
Enshrined in the HISA, when the Authority has proposed rules, they go to the FTC for approval, and there is a requirement for public comment. Furthermore, the HISA allows for horsemen to be on the Authority's board and representatives from horsemen's groups can also serve on the Authority's standing committees.

What will happen to existing state racing commissions?
By the language in the statute, the racing commission rules with regard to anti-doping medication control and racetrack safety will be pre-empted. Commissions do significantly more than that, including licensing, establishing and overseeing rules of racing, overseeing operation of stewards and variety of other activities. This will lighten the load on commissions and allow them to focus on those other areas. Also, the HISA expressly contemplates that USADA and the Authority may work with state racing commissions in implementing the Authority's programs. We can anticipate seeing many states playing a significant role in boots-on-the ground anti-doping activities such as sample collections and investigations.

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Horseracing Integrity And Safety Act: A Standardbred Supporter’s Practical View

There has been much publicity about the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act of 2020 (HISA). As a United States Trotting Association (USTA) director and active participant in the racing side of the business as an owner and a driver, and also as an executive in a business that touches upon both Standardbred and Thoroughbred racing, I have paid close attention to the long-term efforts by both breed organizations to get uniform rules and uniform enforcement along with the creation of disincentives for participants to cheat.

In sum, all of these efforts have failed. Focusing on harness racing, my true passion, anyone who does not believe that the industry is experiencing rampant cheating is living in a dream world. Cheating occurs at a variety of levels, but I will focus on cheating that involves medication, which affects all facets of the business.

HISA has been passed by the House of Representatives in a unanimous (voice) vote, and it is extremely likely it will have a similar outcome in the Senate. No matter where we as harness racing supporters stand on the legislation, it is time to accept it, look at its potential benefits, and work hard to get as much representation as possible and as loud a voice as possible for our Standardbreds. Recent letters by Russell Williams and Joe Faraldo, the USTA's president and chairman, respectively, were not very cordial with regard to their Thoroughbred counterparts. They threw some pretty sharp daggers, perhaps some deserved, but for sure not all. With regard to comments about coming to the table, I know first-hand that at least on one occasion, it was the USTA that put forth ultimatums in order to even sit down.

Nevertheless, all of that is water under the bridge at this point, as are the monies spent by the USTA to fight the bill. In business, we call these sunk costs and fretting whether or not it made sense to spend the money will bear no fruit. What makes sense is to look at life under the legislation and to extend an olive branch to its supporters and try to reap the benefits of the bill, even though it might fall short of a utopian situation for harness racing.

I personally know a number of the key figures involved. I have nothing but respect for the skills and intellect of Joe Faraldo and Russell Williams. I also know that Jim Gagliano (president and chief operating officer of The Jockey Club) is a very reasonable man. And while I don't personally know Meadowlands racetrack owner Jeff Gural, I do believe that he is genuinely interested in bringing better integrity to our game. I also know with 100% certainty that all four of these men have this in common – so things start with much common ground. And while the USTA clearly lost the “war” over the legislation, I do not believe that the supporters have any inclination to stick it to the USTA. In fact, I believe quite the contrary; they would support different rules for breeds that have profound differences in how they race. But to get to that point, the USTA must make the proper overtures to work together now within the confines of the legislation.

Medication (and other abuse-related) reform is badly needed in our game. Cheating abounds in harness racing, a great deal of that falling within the spectrum of medication abuse. Most state racing commissions have done a terrible job in weeding out cheaters and horse abusers. I base that on what I have seen with my own eyes and countless written accounts of cheaters being allowed to continue to participate. And the failure is not just at the level of the commissions, but also at the track level, where known paper trainers or “beards” abound and other violations take place, where asserting private property rights, even with due process, could be exercised to exorcise the problems. But most tracks choose to look the other way. This goes on at nearly every harness track in the country.

Therefore, I urge Russell Williams and Joe Faraldo to reconsider their position and lead the membership in a pivoted direction given likely enactment of this legislation. There is still time to sit down with the key supporters of the bill, before or after its passage and influence its direction with regard to Standardbred racing. I further ask that they put aside any personal issues with others that may be on the opposite side of this debate and view this with the great practicality and professionalism that I know both are capable of, no matter how they might perceive various supporters to behave – in other words, take the highest road. I encourage them to rethink the cost-benefit of any further spending in opposition to the bill before or after its inevitable passage and embrace the possible positive outcomes the bill could mean for harness racing. Furthermore, I encourage them to do their best to exert whatever influence they might have so that our Standardbreds can get the most favorable treatment possible if our breed ever becomes subject to this legislation.

David Siegel is a USTA board member from District 3. He is a Standardbred horse owner and a professional harness driver with over 500 wins. He is also the president of TrackMaster. TrackMaster is a longstanding partner of the USTA for the development and distribution of electronic harness racing handicapping information, automated morning lines, and horse ratings used for race classification. TrackMaster is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Equibase Company. Equibase Company is a partnership of The Jockey Club and the TRA (Thoroughbred Racing Associations of North America), whose diverse membership includes ownership entities of both thoroughbred and harness tracks. The views he expressed here are his own.

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