The horseracing industry—once called the “sport of kings”—has seen better days. For both Thoroughbred and harness racing, the landscape has shifted dramatically. Not long ago, throngs of people gathered at racetracks across the country to watch magnificent Thoroughbreds do what they seemed to have been born to do—run fast and fearlessly. Likewise, fans of harness racing have flocked to marquee races like the Hambletonian (for trotters) and the Little Brown Jug (for pacers)—iconic annual races featuring the top three-year-olds.
These days, though, racetracks are often lonely places, where horses run before sparse crowds, and the hottest action is in the casino—often the raison d’etre for the racetrack.
Factors contributing to the decline in the popularity of horseracing are numerous and complex, from the rise in catastrophic race-related injuries to horses and concurrent proliferation of animal rights activists protesting at racetracks, to the scandals surrounding the use of performance enhancing drugs and increased competition for attention from online gambling with its explosive growth.
For horseracing to survive, many experts believe, it must be reformed. While virtually everyone involved in racing will agree that the safety of horses and jockeys is paramount, the agreement usually ends there. Horseracing historically has been governed by individual states, and the rules from one state to another often varied—especially rules regarding drugs. Since at least 2013 there have been efforts, led by The Jockey Club, to create standards for racing that would be nationwide and consistent from state to state. These efforts have languished without any robust political support.
As horseracing suffered more bad press from doping scandals and horse deaths in 2019 and 2020, momentum behind nationwide standards grew. Finally, the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) was passed in 2020 and signed into law by President Donald Trump. HISA addresses several of the most contentious aspects of regulating horseracing. It will ultimately develop nationwide standards to increase safety in horseracing and restore integrity to the sport. Additionally, it will create anti-doping and medical control protocols and safety programs for racetracks. These would require approval by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), which oversees drug testing for American Olympic, Paralympic and Pan American athletes was selected to work with the industry on developing anti-doping and medication control rules.
The Clock is Ticking
As passed, the law—along with its full scope of drug testing and regulating protocols—will become effective on July 1, 2022. And here is where the first monkey wrench has landed. In a carefully worded press release on December 23, 2021 USADA CEO Travis Tygart announced that the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA, the law and the governing agency share the same acronym) and USADA had failed to reach an agreement. “After months of negotiations, we have been unable to enter an agreement in line with the requirements of the Act, and one which would have given us a reasonable chance to put in place a credible and effective program. While we are obviously saddened by the outcome at this stage, we tried our absolute best to find a way forward but without success.” Tygart didn’t go into further details, but in essence his statement implied a yawning gap between the law’s requirements and the industry’s representatives.
“While we desperately tried to reach an agreement to implement the program, without compromising our values, we have always said the passing of the legislation and the finalization of uniform, robust rules are huge victories for the horses and the equine industry,” Tygart said.
Tucker Pettigrew, a spokesperson for USADA explains that there’s nothing more to say. “We’re really not going to go beyond our press release.” While USADA is treating the dissolution of the relationship with the horseracing industry as if it were an amicable divorce, some horsemen are less diplomatic. Alan Foreman, Chief Executive Officer of the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, says his group—along with other similar groups in the Mid-Atlantic region--are already using many of the safety rules outlined in HISA. Drugs, on the other hand, are a different story. Foreman says that the USADA’s proposed regulations “met with substantial resistance from just about every stakeholder in the industry.”
Meanwhile, the horseracing industry is proceeding as if the USADA issue is a non-issue. The Authority has hired a CEO, Lisa Lazarus, who was scheduled to start work in mid-February. The group’s website still links to the USADA and the work that group had already completed in creating drug-testing protocols. According to the Authority, implementation of the Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) program would have two components: out of competition testing and race day testing. Out of competition testing would be under the auspices of the Authority beginning July 2022. Race day testing would still be handled by individual state regulators until early 2023.
A spokesperson for the Authority, MacKenzie Smith, says that they are not commenting any further about this issue.
Pennsylvania Announces New Rules
In January Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission officials released a new plan aimed at improving safety for horses at the state’s racetracks. The plan includes developing a database of fatalities and requiring trainers to submit pre-entry forms to get permission for horses to race. Tom Chuckas, Pennsylvania’s Director of Thoroughbred Horseracing detailed a list of action items which he says represents an important start for resolving safety issues. The plan also requires veterinarians to confirm that individual horses are sound and suitable for racing. Additionally, they will install diagnostic equipment at racetracks that can be used to identify any bone or muscle injuries that are not obvious through routine exams.
While the plan met with general approval among horsemen and others who are concerned about the welfare of horses involved in racing, the question that looms over every discussion remains unanswered. What about drugs? Scandals involving the use of performance-enhancing drugs have profoundly undermined the integrity of horseracing and endangered horses. Recently in New York, Seth Fishman, a veterinarian who worked with numerous trainers, was found guilty of conspiring to violate adulteration and misbranding laws, and the manufacture of performance-enhancing drugs at racetracks. Fishman is the first of several individuals—including other veterinarians, trainers and distributors of drugs—to be tried. The case is far-reaching, involving schemes in several states and the United Arab Emirates.
In announcing Fishman’s conviction, Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, detailed the breathtaking scope of the disgraced veterinarian’s corrupt enterprise. “The jury’s swift conviction of Seth Fishman reflects the overwhelming evidence of his guilt as displayed through this trial. As an ostensible veterinarian – sworn to the care and protection of animals – Fishman cynically violated his oath in service of corrupt trainers and in the pursuit of profits. Through the sale of untested, unsafe, and unstable drugs, Fishman’s illegal drug business was a platform for both fraud and animal abuse. Today’s conviction appropriately condemns the danger inherent in Fishman’s crimes and underscores the seriousness with which this Office takes the kind of abuse that Fishman practiced.”
In 2021 85 horses died at Pennsylvania’s three Thoroughbred tracks; 56 died at Parx Racing in Bensalem. In May 2021 a raid conducted by the Pennsylvania Racing Commission at Parx found items considered to be contraband, including syringes and medications. Chuckas, the state’s Director of Thoroughbred Horseracing, said the items were found in a barn, groom’s quarters and tack rooms.
HISA Faces Court Challenges
Even as the Authority created under HISA proceeds with rule-making, hiring and identifying a new partner to develop medication regulations, challenges to the law have been hitting court dockets from Texas to West Virginia. The National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, the State of Oklahoma, the United States Trotting Association, and several racetracks are questioning whether HISA is constitutional. While court challenges and disputes about medications nibble away at the law, the horseracing industry teeters on the edge of an abyss. With the industry’s product declining in popularity, with its integrity buffeted by scandals and horse deaths, with online casinos and lotteries scooping up ever larger shares of gambling dollars, it’s difficult to imagine a bright future for horseracing.