May 2022 Issue

Page 26 May 2022 EAST COAST EQUESTRIAN BLACK’S LIVESTOCK -The Next Pasture - Where the grass is always green, lush & stirrup high Individual Horse & Pet Cremation Standard Mortality 24 hour service available John E. Black: 610.220.5262 Matthew Hoffman: 610.656.3258 Office: 610.584.4482 Fax: 610.584.9111 BLACK’S LIVESTOCK P.O. Box 662 Skippack, PA 19472 www.nextpasture.com Email: eschfence@gmail.com - Fax: -- WHOLESALE & RETAIL Phone -- By Suzanne Bush On March 1 Pennsylvania’s Horseracing Integrity Hotline went live, offering individuals who witness suspected unethi- cal, illegal activity at any one of the state’s racetracks a way to report the activity anonymously. The hotline is not manned, but Racing Commission staff mon- itor it and determine what—if any—course of action might be warranted. The hotline number is supposed to be posted at each of the state’s racetracks, in public spaces, as well as in areas not accessible to the general pub- lic, such as barns and backside locations. Each facility displays the hotline prominently on their websites, as well. “The hotline applies to both Thoroughbred and Standardbred tracks in Pennsylvania,” says Shannon Powers, Press Secretary for the Department of Agricul- ture. As March turned into April, the sign issue was a work in progress. In late March, none was apparent in the public areas at the racetrack at PARX, however Powers explains that “additional signs have been ordered and will be posted at PARX” by mid- April. The signs will be in both Spanish and English. She said that the Racing Commission met on March 29 and received an update on the hotline from Tom Chuckas, the Director of Thor- oughbred Horseracing for the PA Department of Agriculture. “In Tom Chuckas’ report, he said there had been eight calls, three of which had been investigated and resolved and five of which are pending,” Powers says. The hotline, 717-787-1942, is one of several innovations aimed at improving the safety and welfare of horses. These changes were announced as part of a 10-step plan by the Racing Commission in January, anticipating the roll-out of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) which takes effect in July. “Some measures will be part of HISA when they’re finalized,” Powers explains. “Pennsylvania is not waiting for HISA to be finalized, though.” She says a working group convened by the Racing Commission drafted pro- posals after looking at what other states had done. “They looked at what works, what is feasible and doable.” Pennsylvania Horse Racing Integrity Hotline Goes Live The 10-step plan includes numerous measures, ranging from biannual third-party analysis of the tracks, to increased mon- itoring of morning workouts by track veterinarians, to requiring track veterinarians to certify that individual horses are fit to race. While the plan was developed to increase the safety of horses, there are hurdles that are not easily overcome. For one thing, several key elements of the plan depend on increased veterinarian time and attention at the race- tracks. There is a nationwide shortage of veterinarians today, and the shortage is not likely to go away anytime soon. For the past several years, the turnover rate for veterinarians is reported- ly double that of other medical professionals. With HISA becoming law in a few months, there’s not a lot of time to resolve the loose ends in the 10-step plan, although individual states will have a grace period in which to comply with HISA’s rules. “There are resource challenges tied to all of these measures,” Powers says and notes that key questions need answers. “What can the industry do, and who can do it?” As Pennsylvania wrestles with these challenges, HISA has survived one of its own, according to The Thoroughbred Daily News. Late last year the National Horsemen’s Benevo- lent and Protective Association (NHBPA) along with other parties filed a suit challenging the constitutionality of HISA. On Thursday, March 31 a fed- eral judge in Texas ruled that HISA, while “novel,” does not violate the Constitution. United States District Court Judge James Wesley Hendrix wrote that “The Court also acknowl- edges the dramatic change that HISA imposes nationwide on the Thoroughbred horseracing industry. But that change result- ed from a decision of the people through Congress. And despite its novelty, the law as construct- ed stays within current constitu- tional limitations as defined by the Supreme Court and the Fifth Circuit.” While there are several other challenges to HISA pending, there are already motions to dis- miss those cases, the Thorough- bred Daily News reports.