There has been one overarching goal for the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA), and that has been to make horse racing a cleaner and safer sport.
Not only was this a goal for HISA, but trainers, owners, backstretch workers, jockeys, and fans of the sport knew that a problem existed within the industry, and it needed to be fixed.
What is being proposed to repeal and replace HISA, the Racehorse Health and Safety Act (RHSA), is a significant step backwards in protecting Thoroughbred horses across the country from cheaters, injuries and of course, fatalities.
HISA established a federal governing body to provide national oversight for the horse racing industry in every state, which has helped unify a disarray of state-run practices.
What is being proposed in the RHSA bill, which was introduced by Louisiana Republican Rep. Clay Higgins, goes back in time and proposes giving oversight back to the states and a voluntary opportunity for states to enter an interstate compact whose members would make up the Racehorse Health and Safety Organization (RHSO).
According to the bill, the voluntary RHSO would exist “to coordinate the decision making and actions of the State racing commission of each member State.”
Based on history however, we already know that a voluntary compact doesn’t work. It didn’t work before HISA because not all state officials could agree on a set of regulations, resulting in a patchwork of state laws that varied and allowed for unsafe practices within the sport.
What we know is that HISA, as well as the Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit (HIWU), which oversees HISA’s Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Program rules, have a massive undertaking to accomplish.
HISA’s Racetrack Safety Program, which allowed for the establishment of national equine safety and racetrack accreditation standards to help reduce risks of injury to horses and jockeys, was implemented on July 1, 2022.
The ADMC rules and regulations were only effectively put in place on May 22, 2023.
HISA’s job to see that these programs run efficiently has only been complicated by having to repeatedly face lawsuit after lawsuit from its detractors, such as the National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (NHBPA) and its state affiliates.
Of course, the NHBPA also supports the RHSA bill, as the association wants to return to state oversight of racing.
Yet, what many of these groups don’t realize, or maybe choose to ignore, is that HISA and HIWU are leveling the playing field by enforcing rules against banned substances and removing opportunities to cheat, as well the cheaters themselves.
By the end of September 2023, 85 of the 141 medication-related cases made public by HIWU were resolved. In addition, 27 of the 85 resolutions found banned substances to be in use.
Oversight like this, enforcement of the rules, resolutions to cases, and overall transparency are only possible to this degree because HISA is in place and working.
Efforts by HISA have also included post-entry/pre-race screenings for horses. Screenings can identify 75% of horses that could be at risk of suffering an injury, and though not perfect, HISA is continuing to improve its preventative work, as well as enhance and revise regulations as needed to increase safety.
The idea of repealing HISA and replacing it with RHSA will only set the industry back years and appease those who benefited from the state’s running freely.
If people want to see the horse racing industry thrive and continue to create an environment that is safe and healthy for Thoroughbreds and the people who care for them, HISA is the way forward.