Lazarus is 'very optimistic' about federal racing agency's future

Lisa Lazarus, chief executive officer of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, said Thursday that she was “very optimistic” about the agency’s future after Congress addressed a challenge to the authority’s constitutionality.

In the wake of Congress clarifying how the Federal Trade Commission must oversee HISA, the authority asked the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals this week to reconsider its November ruling that HISA is unconstitutional.

“We were delighted that Congress took the initiative to essentially correct the issue that the Fifth Circuit identified with the constitutionality of HISA,” she said during a media teleconference.

If the ruling of unconstitutionality is not reversed, HISA’s business apparently would be suspended at least in Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi. Those were the states whose racing leaders joined the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association in taking this particular case to court.

During the teleconference, Lazarus addressed several other hot topics in the tug of war between HISA and its critics.

One of those topics is the process of seeking Federal Trade Commission approval of HISA’s anti-doping medication control rules, which the agency rejected in December.

“We resubmitted the anti-doping rules. And we're hopeful and optimistic that we'll be able to implement them, probably around mid-March,” Lazarus said. “Obviously, it's dependent on the FTC, when they post in the federal register, when they actually approve them. But that's our current expectation of what the timeline looks like.”

Another topic was the standoff between HISA and the Texas Racing Commission, which refuses to recognize the agency’s authority. As a result, tracks in the state cannot export their signals to other racetrack and account wagering providers.

“We're obviously disappointed,” Lazarus said. “We would love to be able to work with Texas. You may recall that both (general counsel Jon Roach) and I went down and visited and presented in Austin, maybe June of last year, and had some really good meetings with obviously some very professional folks who are running the commission, and we thought we would be able to reach some sort of agreement. We weren't.”

She pointed out what she sees as a flaw in the argument by Texas officials and others that they are not obligated to recognize HISA’s authority.

“I know that the Texas Racing Commission's perspective is that HISA conflicts with state law with regards to Texas racing, because the state law grants the Texas Racing Commission the exclusive authority to govern racing. You know, that's the case with the majority of jurisdictions that we oversee. And that's because at the time that those laws were written, there was no federal authority. So of course, no other entity other than Kentucky or Texas or Louisiana is going to be able to regulate racing in that jurisdiction.

“We think the law is extremely clear that given that there is now a federal law, that federal law preempts. And that's been a view that essentially every other racing commission has accepted. We respect Texas's position and just hope that in the future, things change and we are able to work together.”

For 2023, Lazarus said, her top goal is to build trust across the industry. “If we can bring the majority of the industry into a scenario or perspective where they accept or believe that HISA's goals are to make the industry better, or to make racing better, then we can we can achieve our objectives,” Lazarus said in a media teleconference Thursday. “I don't think there's anybody who would ever say they’re against safety and integrity. Those are obviously ideals and goals that I think everyone in the industry shares. So the question really, for me, is how can I bring all constituency groups to a point where they trust that HISA's goal generally, is to achieve safety and integrity. And for me, that's going to be the focus for 2023.”