Federal Equine Protection Legislation Advances

Two key pieces of equine protection legislation advanced out of the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce's Subcommittee on Consumer Protection June 24, most notably the Save America's Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act, H.R. 3355, which would permanently ban the transport of horses bound for slaughter. The measure was endorsed by more than 225 equine-related businesses, groups, and organizations, as well as a wide array of stake holders which included The Jockey Club; The Breeders' Cup; Water, Hay, Oats Alliance (WHOA); and the New York Racing Association (NYRA).

Advancing alongside was the Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act, H.R. 5441. PAST would eliminate the use of large, stacked shoes and ankle chains that are placed on Tennessee Walkers' feet to exacerbate pain in the show ring and produce the 'Big Lick' action. It would also revamp the USDA's inspection program and provide felony level penalties to give teeth to the HPA. The advance puts the bills in motion and creates an opportunity for additional legislating in the House and Senate.

The post Federal Equine Protection Legislation Advances appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

‘Broken Systems And Cronyism’: WHOA Advisory Board Says Horseracing Integrity And Safety Authority Will Flounder Without USADA

The Water Hay Oats Alliance (WHOA) is a grassroots movement of like-minded individuals who support the passage of federal legislation to prohibit the use of performance-enhancing drugs in the sport of horse racing. The appointment of an independent anti-doping program run by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) will resolve the problem of widespread drug use in American racing and put U.S. racing jurisdictions in step with international standards.

Doping destroys public confidence in racing, defrauds the betting fan, weakens the genetic pool, and, most importantly, puts the life and limb of our equine athletes and their jockeys at risk. It is obvious that after years of committee review and discussion, America's racing industry cannot police itself by eliminating the proliferation of performance-enhancing drugs in our sport, nor does it possess the power to adequately punish the purveyors of these drugs.

It was the summer of 2012…
Our original team of supporters had just returned from a trip to Washington, D.C., lobbying for drug and medication reform in U.S. racing. The legislation then was entitled The Interstate Horseracing Improvement Act of 2011 sponsored by Congressman Ed Whitfield (R-KY). It called to amend the Interstate Horseracing Act of 1978 (IHA). After that trip, it was obvious that the racing industry would never support those measures, so we began discussions with the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) to help address the intractable issue of doping in racing.

We decided that our individual voices would make a greater impact if we banded together under one umbrella, with one voice. It was crystal clear that our goal would be to find a way to put USADA in a place of independent management and oversight.

That was the beginning of the Water Hay Oats Alliance (WHOA). Over time, owners, breeders, trainers, jockeys, and industry professionals joined our ranks. We included racing fans and handicappers, partners in our sport. We included members of all racing disciplines: Thoroughbred, Standardbred, and Quarter Horse racing.

Since that time, USADA has played an integral role as a valued partner in efforts to pass the industry-shifting reform legislation that created HISA. USADA chief executive officer Travis Tygart and his  team have shared their time and expertise, often at their own expense, educating countless individuals and racing industry groups about the importance of clean sport and what USADA's gold standard program could do to better racing.

Today, WHOA has grown from that handful of advocates to over 2,000 industry stakeholders:  over 850 owners and breeders, 950 industry professionals, and a host of racing fans and handicappers.

Since that original bill, there have been five variations of legislation to address doping in horse racing.  With each variation, WHOA's simple mission statement stood the test.  As long as the legislation met our mission with the placement of USADA, WHOA supported it.

When the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act was passed in December 2020,  we all celebrated. Our mission was complete.  The legislation named USADA, an independent third party, as the entity to serve as “the anti-doping and medication control enforcement agency.”

But, not so fast…
In late December, negotiations between HISA and USADA stalled. The legislative compromise that WHOA supported – to put USADA in their rightful place with a five-year contract – has been aborted.  HISA is looking for other options and interviewing other entities to fill USADA's place.

“What a shame. What a travesty. What are the insurmountable issues that would preclude a fivc-year contract between USADA and HISA?” asked international owner and breeder George Strawbridge.

“I was so disappointed to see the breakdown of talks between HISA and USADA. There is no other agency that will handle testing as thoroughly as USADA, we need to get them back to the table so they can clean up our sport.” said leading Classic trainer Graham Motion.

Michael Engleman, a horseman, and former international cyclist, lamented, “Like so many others across the world, I was extremely disappointed to read the news of HISA suspending talks with USADA. The reality is that for U.S. racing there is no legitimate and globally respected alternative to USADA. Anything less than USADA just shows that we are not serious about making honest and real change for what is best for racing, the racing fans and the horses we all love.”

Members of WHOA have reached out to both parties asking for an explanation of the stalemate and offering to help bridge the gap.  To date, no light has been shed on the subject. The industry deserves to know what the issues are that caused the impasse. “Don't live in the problem, live in the solution.” In this case, without understanding the problem, we can't help find a solution.

WHOA's support of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act hinged on the fact that currently there is no other “entity that is nationally recognized as being a medication regulation agency equal in qualification to the United States Anti-Doping Agency.” We challenge HISA to find another agency that meets USADA's program criteria. THERE IS NONE.

“We need USADA now.  Time is of the essence to put an end to doping in racing.” said Triple Crown winning jockey Steve Cauthen.

Members of WHOA do not feel that HISA has the expertise or luxury of time to build or piecemeal together an entity that would come close to doing what USADA does so well. It is a well-oiled machine. There is a level of trust that USADA stands its ground for what is right. It will not be swayed by outside parties. It is truly independent.

Owner, breeder Bill Casner believes that “without the years of expertise that USADA provides, HISA would basically be trying to reinvent the wheel. It will be floundering, trying to deal with the sophistication of the cheaters. We have to get USADA on board.”

WHOA will continue to endorse the independent turn-key program USADA brings to the table. Their scientists are respected at the highest levels. USADA's drug testing capabilities exceed that of any other agency in the field. They have been involved in drug testing, results management, and adjudication longer and at a higher level than any other organization. USADA utilizes advancing sciences to look for new performance-enhancing drugs to stay ahead of the cheater and uses data analysis to catch them and provide a fair process. USADA is a signatory to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), giving it access to the best global anti-doping practices and science.

“USADA's knowledge of drug testing exceeds that of any other agency in the field.  They have been involved in drug testing longer and at a higher level than any other agency. There is a major difference between testing at the Olympic level than the NFL, for example.” said Barry Irwin of Team Valor.

“USADA has been at the heart of WHOA's efforts from the beginning. We all appreciate that changing a culture and a system will be challenging and expensive. But desperate times call for desperate measures.” said Staci Hancock, WHOA's managing member. “Racing's reputation and future depend on bold changes for the betterment of our sport and the health and well-being of our horses. USADA can give us that, putting an end to business as usual with broken systems and cronyism. We can't afford anything less.”

“I don't think the horse industry realizes the plight it is in, and it desperately needs the integrity of USADA to help shore up its sad reputation. Cheaters are still cheating, horses are still dying, and public perception is still worsening,” added Arthur Hancock of Stone Farm.

Source of original post

Irwin: USADA Essential To A Successful Horseracing Integrity And Safety Authority

It was not by happenstance that in a 2004 Op/Ed I wrote in The Blood-Horse and eight years later the Water Hay Oats Alliance in its mission statement both singled out the United States Anti-Doping Agency as the one entity that could rein in the rampant use of drugs both legal and illegal in horse racing.

Through several iterations of proposed congressional legislations in different political administrations, WHOA forged ahead, convincing The Jockey Club, Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders' Association, Breeders' Cup and other leading organizations to join its efforts. But WHOA never lost sight of its goal as stated in its original mission statement: USADA needed to be named by congress to oversee drugs in racing.

When Mitch McConnell finally saw the light and agreed to help his state's signature industry by embracing the idea of the federal legislation, he joined the effort for a final push that resulted in the idea of naming an entity, named the Authority, to deal with the Federal Trade Commission in setting up drug controls. The idea from the very get-to and through the rewritten federal law was to bring USADA on board to do their thing.

But between passing the legislation, seating board and committee members and drafting rules for drugs and safety, the Authority lost sight of its mandate and role in the process. Things that plague most political actions and serve as a stark reminder of the corruption to which many humans are capable of brought forth conflicts of interest and the weightiness of power. The Authority shockingly announced during the holidays that it had been unable to come to a meeting of the minds with Travis Tygart, the head of USADA. The newly formed group revealed that it was moving ahead to find an alternative overseer of drugs in racing. 

Conflicts of interest? Abuse of power? Money up for grabs? Really? Yep. Really.

I will save you all from having to read the rest of this and get right to the point: USADA is the only group with the brand, gravitas, respect and tools to save the sport of Thoroughbred racing. Yes, there are other groups that could address testing, investigations and education, but in total none of them has what USADA brings to the table. 

Jeff Novitzky, a storied federal investigator who graduated from breaking open the 2002 BALCO scandal and currently is in charge of athlete performance for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, is a board member of the Authority. He is potentially an important player in determining who gets the nod to oversee drugs in racing, as he actually has experience in hiring USADA to work on behalf of the UFC.

As explained by Novitzky, there are ultimately three tasks that need to be addressed by any anti-doping organization, namely testing, investigation and education. Interestingly, he said that education is perhaps the most important, as it involves an authority figure such as Travis Tygart being able to educate athletes as to how sophisticated and thorough USADA can be in its job. Novitzky says that this aspect of the triple-pronged approach has formed an effective deterrent to cheating by his athletes. Novitzky said that it is possible to find outfits that could do testing and investigation, but very challenging to find a group that could educate the participants like USADA. That is a difference maker for him.

The reason that WHOA and I have pushed so hard for USADA is that a totally independent group is essential in allowing the game to function and give fans and competitors alike the confidence that the sport is on the level.

Here is why an independent group is needed. In a game dominated by super-wealthy, powerfully-connected participants that operate their enterprises on a win-at-all-costs ethos, only an independent body is able to withstand the onslaught of a corrupt individual to assist them in breaking the rules.

In today's environment, within the confines of racing (and not including the Federal Bureau of Investigation), powerful individuals who get caught breaking the rules always seem to find a get out of jail free card. 

The reason so many horsemen and owners seem to be against USADA's involvement in racing is that their reputation has preceded them. They are incorruptible and this scares the crap out of them.

However, with USADA now set to be totally bypassed in favor of some other organizations that have been mentioned, independence will be thrown right out the window and all of our efforts will have been for naught, because the bad guys will have won again and nothing will have changed. Right now forces that want the appearance of change, but behind closed doors actually embrace the status quo, are calling the shots.

Forces working against USADA include those with conflicts of interest. Among them are Authority members that have existing affiliations to other anti-doping doping agencies, rival testing labs lined up for a big payday and individuals pulling any strings they can find to keep USADA from becoming the top cop on the block. There is a lot of money involved and more than one testing lab or doping agency that would like to get their piece of the pie. Cronyism, regional muscle flexing and a good old-fashioned money grab characterizes the battlefield today.

It says here that the Authority has lost sight of its role in the process and that a combination of egos fueled with new-found power, members swayed by passionate enemies of USADA and lots of money up for grabs has corrupted what should have been a simple task. And for all appearances it looks very much like those empowered to guard the palace gates want to ascend to the throne.

Barry Irwin is the founder and CEO of Team Valor International

The post Irwin: USADA Essential To A Successful Horseracing Integrity And Safety Authority appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Irwin: Robust Investigative Force Critical For HISA To Effectively Combat Cheating

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) is not scheduled to begin operations until July of next year, but with release of the initial guidelines issued for public consumption last week and any number of Op/Ed pieces appearing in industry trade publications, the direction of the Authority that will steer the ship seems to be given plenty of helpful hints for its future navigation.

As the one who got the ball rolling in a 2004 Op/Ed in The Blood-Horse by urging industry members to consider a way of hiring the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency to oversee drugs in horseracing, I must at this early juncture in the start-up of the Authority register my fears regarding the ultimate success of the new entity and its potentially sweeping changes.

Germination for wishing to get USADA involved in the struggle to rid cheaters from the game was to use CEO Travis Tygart and his team to devise a plan to form an investigative unit capable of discovering through traditional and new-wave policing methods which designer and human drugs were being used to tilt the playing field in North American racing.

If the world of international sport had learned one thing from the 2002 Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO) it was that testing was best used not to apprehend suspects but to confirm that they were cheating. The gold standard in catching the crooks was by finding the actual illegal substances first, then developing a test and using that test in the future to nail the bad guys. Testing without knowing what one was testing for was like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

Good old-fashioned cop grunt work and sophisticated FBI-style surveillance is required for the best results. In the eyes of those individuals who formed and drove the Water Hay Oats Alliance, it was foremost in mind that Tygart would use his agency's skills to offer relief to racehorse owners who played the game straight and true.

However, other initiatives, introduced by other stakeholders with alternative agendas, have gotten in the way and now threaten to derail the Authority from their original appointed rounds. And adding further insult to injury, everybody with an agenda is making noises about the Authority widening their sphere of influence by tackling such areas as pari-mutuel wagering.

The last thing HISA needs is to be accused of overreach by encompassing an agenda that goes too far afield from its original mandate. HISA was never envisioned as a so-called “league office” or end-all and be-all to govern the entirety of racing.

HISA is basically divided into two aspects of racing: integrity (preventing cheating) and safety (protecting the horse). While I am extremely interested in protecting the welfare of racehorses, I was personally disappointed in its inclusion in the final legislation, as I thought it could be handled better outside the confines of the law and because it detracted from the focus on cheating with drugs.

I daresay that very well may have been the intention of those proposing and supporting the safety element of the legislation. But I fully understand that with any sort of seminal legislation there must always be compromise and I am positive that without the safety aspect, Churchill Downs would never have been able to use its influence to convince Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell to back the bill.

In reviewing the Authority's releases so far and in reading reports in the media as well as interviews with key members of the Authority, it seems likely to me that testing for illegal substances is being given too much weight, as opposed to investigations. If this turns out to be the case, it would be a misguided, potentially detrimental and disheartening.

I understand why the “safety” advocates pressed so hard to have their initiative appear to be on an equal footing with “integrity.” By shifting the focus away from a single-minded attempt to zero in on drugs, the “safety” crowd hoped that racing would not be placed in a negative light. I get it. I do not agree with this gambit, but I understand it, especially where a major racetrack is concerned.

But unless the industry as a whole is ready to tackle cheating with drugs head on, the specter of altering the results of racing will never cease.

So this is my pitch to members of the Authority, no matter what side of the fence you are on, no matter how you managed to get your seat on the boards and committees and no matter what your agenda: please do all in your power to make sure that Travis Tygart is given adequate funding to carry on investigations that will yield the type of results those of us who have committed our lives to cleaning up the game can feel that all of our work has been worthwhile.

This message is not directed at USADA. It is not directed at Travis Tygart. It is directed at those individuals who may seek to over-fund their own aspects of the legislation.

Without a robust investigative force that is fully funded this entire initiative will fail and HISA will go the way of all other alphabet soup groups in racing. This is our one last chance to get horseracing right, correct the wrongs on the racetrack and clean up the game enough to present it as a viable sport to fans and horseplayers. We owe them that much.

Barry Irwin is the founder and CEO of Team Valor International

 

The post Irwin: Robust Investigative Force Critical For HISA To Effectively Combat Cheating appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Verified by MonsterInsights