October 2020 Issue

Page 6 October 2020 EAST COAST EQUESTRIAN By Suzanne Bush It was heralded as a mo- ment of bipartisanship in these troubled and polarized times— the Horseracing Integrity Act (HIA) won approval in the House Energy and Commerce Commit- tee in early September by a 46-5 vote. Not long afterward, Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) in- troduced a Senate version of the bill, the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA), and promised to push for its passage before the end of this year. The Horseracing Integrity Act has wandered in the bardo of Washington for several years. First introduced in 2015, the legislation, meant to create an effective drug control program that would ensure greater safety for racehorses and a measure of integrity for the sport, failed to generate enough support. It was reintroduced in 2017 with some enhancements but failed again to gain traction. But now in the midst of a pandemic that has upended horseracing—along with virtually everything else in the country—the bill has finally achieved a measure of stardom. Even without the pandemic, horseracing had suffered some reputational blows in the past several months. Horse fatali- ties and catastrophic injuries at racetracks drew headlines worldwide, as well as scathing criticism of the industry from an- imal welfare groups. States like Kentucky, California and New York were facing substantial losses if the horseracing indus- try were to crumble under the weight of drug scandals, horse deaths and the rising anger of animal lovers. Thus, the legislation and the apparent unity it is generating in Washington, arrived like the pro- verbial knight in shining armor. A Coalition of the Willing? Support for the Horseracing Integrity Act is not universal, however. The United States Trotting Association (USTA) has called McConnell’s bill “a Thoroughbred bill written by elite Thoroughbred interests in an attempt to address elite Thor- oughbred problems.” During debate on the bill in the House, Representative Kurt Schrader (D-OR) complained that the bill lacked authenticity, since there was no input from veterinarians on legislation intended to protect horses. Schrader is a veterinarian and has railed against the banning of race-day Lasix without, he believes, any scientific evidence. The legislation would create an independent authority to de- velop anti-doping and racetrack safety standards for the horserac- ing industry. The panel would also be charged with responsi- bility for standardizing the list of permitted and banned substances for races. USTA’s objections go beyond what they see as the exclusion Horseracing Reformers Are Hot to Trot (Continued on page 24)