McConnell bill would create central horse racing authority

The sport of horse racing might soon have a central governing body, something it has lacked for its entire existence. At a Keeneland press conference on Monday, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced he will introduce a bill that would create the Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Authority.

The authority would be in charge of maintaining standards and regulating anti-doping and track surface and operations across the country.

Drew Fleming, CEO of the Breeders’ Cup, was one of several horse racing leaders who accompanied McConnell at the news conference. He said the bill would provide much-needed regulation.

“Our industry needs uniform standards and protocols that are consistently enforced to make sure that integrity and equine safety are top priorities for every track, every horseman and every race in all 38 racing jurisdictions.”

The bill would allow the authority to contract with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency as its enforcement mechanism against doping. The authority would consist of nine members with no current ties to the equine industry, a move taken to prevent conflicts of interest.

McConnell said he began attempting to bring various authorities in the sport to a consensus after he read an editorial in The Washington Post calling for the sport to be abolished.

“When I got past the initial shock of it, I thought it might be a good time to talk to all the various players and see one more time if it was possible for all of us to get together.”

McConnell said he might introduce with Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California. U.S. Rep. Andy Barr, who represents the Lexington area, said he will change a bill already in the house to mirror the one going to the Senate.

McConnell said in a question-and-answer portion of the news conference that he is optimistic the bill will garner enough support to pass.

“The key is, I think, to have bi-partisan support,” McConnell said. “The most important member of the House of Representatives is [Nancy Pelosi], and horse racing is pretty big in California, so I’m thinking that we have something pleasant to talk about for a change.”

Bill Lear, vice chairman of the Jockey Club, said the bill brings together two previous attempts to govern the sport: the Horseracing Integrity Act, introduced in 2015, and the Thoroughbred Safety Coalition.

“By merging these two into a single entity, as Bill Carstanjen (CEO of Churchill Downs Inc.) said, under the umbrella and attached to the Federal Trade Commission,” Lear said. “We will now for the first time be able to develop and implement rigorous national standards on both of those two sides of the house and enforce compliance with the rules.”

All speakers at the news conference praised the unity achieved by the group, saying it will help the sport grow.

After the event, several organizations issued statements in support of the bill and its goals.

“Horsemen should view today's developments with the Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Act with hope,” New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association President Joe Appelbaum said in a statement. “It's been clear for a generation that a systematic approach to equine welfare is needed and this effort is a big step in that direction.”

An animal rights group also praised the bill.

“McConnell has stepped up to end widespread doping in American horseracing and to address racetrack safety, the key contributing factors to fatalities on American racetracks,” Kitty Block, CEO of the Humane Society of the United States, said in a statement. “We cannot continue to look the other way when a racehorse is severely injured or killed during training or a race. This measure will advance necessary reforms that will make or break horse racing in the United States.”