HISA Submits Draft Track Safety Rules to FTC

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority submitted Dec. 6 draft track safety rules to the Federal Trade Commission for review, public comment, and final approval as it aims to meet its planned July 1, 2022 launch date to oversee medication, drug testing, and safety issues in the sport. 

The draft rules on safety posted Monday evening reflect significant work by the Authority's Racetrack Safety Committee and input from a broad range of regulators, experts, other industry stakeholders, and the general public. The rules aim to establish a national uniform program on policies for pre-race veterinary inspections, voided-claim rules, racetrack surface maintenance, and gathering of information on medication administrations, treatment, and injury data.

The proposed regulations follow the 158-page draft on anti-doping and medication control protocol released last month by HISA for stakeholder review. Those draft regulations address anti-doping, the medication control program, prohibited list, equine arbitration procedures, testing and investigation standards, and standards for labs.

The Authority said Monday it has notified the FTC of its intent to file final draft rules for the Anti-Doping and Medication Control program later this month, prior to the new year. This will then initiate a formal notice and comment process during which stakeholders and the general public may again weigh in by submitting opinions for a 60-day period, after which the FTC will publish final regulations.

To date, the United States Anti-Doping Agency has led the process of authoring draft rules for the program in coordination with the Authority's ADMC Committee, led by Adolpho Birch. As explained in the formal waiver request, the Authority and USADA are continuing to finalize the terms of the agreement under which USADA will operate as the independent enforcement agency for the new rules. The organizations will also continue to evolve and refine the draft ADMC rules to take into account industry and public feedback. 

"We are pleased to have submitted the draft Racetrack Safety rules which will make the sport safer for both equine and human athletes and thank the Authority's Racetrack Safety Committee for their hard work," said Authority chairman Charles Scheeler. "In addition, we are deeply grateful for the diligence, expertise, and leadership of USADA and the ADMC Committee in developing comprehensive draft ADMC rules in a remarkably short period of time. 

"We are also grateful for the feedback we received from all segments of the racing community regarding these draft rules. We look forward to continuing our partnership as we finalize and operationalize new, nationwide regulations to ensure the integrity and safety of the sport."

Scheeler has called for comments.

"The rule-making process is still underway, and we encourage experts, other industry stakeholders, racing fans, and the general public to review and comment through our website. Although the final decision on which regulations will be approved and implemented ultimately lies with the FTC, we want to ensure that any interested party has the opportunity to offer their perspective and input," Scheeler said last month.