Drugs, crops and claims: Inside the newly proposed HISA rules

Proposed new rules from the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, released on Thursday, could have a massive impact on racing both on and off the track. Highlights of the proposal include changes to medication and doping enforcement, a new whereabouts requirement for horses, changes to the claiming game and new crop rules featuring strong enforcement.

According to the HISA law, enforcement of the drug rules will be handled by the non-profit U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. The rules are not final and after a public comment period will be sent to the Federal Trade Commission for more public feedback and approval.

“We are honored to be involved at this stage to help draft and ultimately finalize gold-standard rules on anti-doping and medication control for the equine industry,” USADA CEO Travis Tygart said in a statement. “We are excited with where this process is headed and with proposed rules being published for two additional rounds of public feedback.”

[Related: HISA announced proposed rules and regulations]

The new rules classify banned substances into two categories. Primary substances are banned at all times when a horse is under HISA’s jurisdiction, while secondary substances are banned on race day.

For a primary substance violation, the responsible party, which is the trainer in most cases, unless the horse is not in training, can be suspended for up to two years for a first violation, up to four years for aggravating circumstances or a second violation, and a third can result in a lifetime suspension.

Primary substances include anabolic agents, EPO and some other medications including clenbuterol.

For secondary substances, largely anti-inflammatories and supplements, suspensions can be up to 30 days with a fine, or up to two years for aggravating circumstances or four or more violations within a five-year period.

Horses will be automatically disqualified for race-day violations, and can be suspended from 0-14 months, or for life, based on the substance or method used.

All treatments given to horses will be put into an electronic database, which has to be updated within 24 hours of the treatment.

Who is responsible for paying for the increased testing and how they are to do so is not covered in the proposed rule, something that, along with banning the use of race day Lasix, has been a sticking point for some opponents including the National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, which has put up legal challenges to its implementation.

“The National HBPA will have no public comment until actual HISA proposals are formally submitted to the FTC,” CEO Eric Hamelback said in a statement.

As the new rules require horses to submit to testing with no advance notice, trainers and owners will have to give updated whereabouts for every horse. Failing to do so can lead to suspension for the trainer or the horse.

The proposed rules also include restrictions on use of the riding crop for jockeys. Under the new rules, jockeys would be able to strike on the hindquarters no more than six times in a single race.

They would be allowed two strikes in succession before allowing the horse time to respond. They would also be allowed to tap the horse on the shoulder while keeping both hands on the reins and touching the horse’s neck.

Punishments for violating the proposed crop rule would be strict. For one to three extra strikes, the jockey would be given a minimum three-day suspension.

For four to nine additional strikes, the same suspension would be given, but the horse would be automatically disqualified from the race. For more than 10 extra strikes, the suspension would be a minimum of five days.

For repeat offenses, a points system would be introduced to govern additional suspensions. For other devices, including buzzers, a first violation would result in the loss of racing license in all jurisdictions for 10 years, with a second violation triggering a lifetime ban,.

The Jockeys’ Guild did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Claiming races would be restricted from having purses larger than a ratio of 1.6-to-1 of the claiming price for the race. Those who claim horses would be able to void said claim if the horse dies or is euthanized on track, is vanned off, or if the horse is placed on the vet’s list for unsoundness, lameness or bleeding within an hour of the race.

All horses that die on the track will have to have a necropsy performed on them within 24 hours.

After the proposal goes through public comment and is approved by the FTC, new rules are expected to go into effect on July 1. The complete proposal can be viewed below.