Horseplayers Support USADA Oversight

The people who put their money on the line wagering on horse racing would like to see an overhaul of its drug testing and enforcement, based on results of a recent survey.

Horseplayers Association of North America members overwhelmingly support proposed federal legislation that would have the United States Anti-Doping Agency regulate drug testing in the sport, based on survey results released in the September issue of HANA's HorsePlayer Monthly. From the 411 HANA members who participated in the survey, 83.12% supported having HANA throw its support behind USADA.

Unfortunately for supporters of the USADA legislation, despite member voters recommending HANA support the legislation by joining the Coalition for Horse Racing Integrity, HANA has not joined the coalition and is unlikely to do so, said HANA president Jeff Platt. The coalition is attempting to gather industry consensus in support of the legislation.

While the yes-no vote seemed to indicate overwhelming support for the legislation, Platt said member comments were more of a mixed bag. He said the biggest concern of the HANA board is that because the legislation currently does not include a specific funding mechanism, any increased expenses ultimately will be passed on to horseplayers through increased takeout.

"Basically our biggest fear is that we're going to back an initiative, see Congress pass it, and then to pay for it—instead of doing it the way Jockey Club is proposing by increasing starter fees $35 a race or so, that the industry somehow comes up with a fee that amounts to the equivalent of a takeout increase," Platt said. "Our position is we're already paying 22% blended takeout and that's enough. You should be able to accomplish testing and enforcement, better integrity and transparency, while charging the current takeout that we believe is already too high. We're very concerned about the cost element of this."

When members voted in the survey, it was with the understanding that the regulatory changes would not be funded through increased takeout. The USADA model is expected to cost more because of increased out-of-competition testing and improved oversight in many states.

While HANA has not followed through with the recommendation of its members, the coalition noted that it was important to see that the members back the USADA plan. In a statement, the coalition praised HANA making the results of the survey public.

"Horseplayers and bettors are the lifeblood of the Thoroughbred racing industry," the coalition statement said. "The leadership of HANA clearly understands that we must ensure their voice is represented, and we praise the recent announcement of a poll of its members which concluded that more than four in five horseplayers (83%) support national uniform drug and medication standards overseen by experts at USADA, an independent, nongovernmental non-profit organization."

Based on the yes-no vote, the survey participants supported the move by a wide margin. Some of the comments in favor of USADA that are listed in HorsePlayer Monthly include:

"The states and regulatory arms of each have failed to achieve this goal. Enough is enough."

"Any move to bring uniformity across the various venues in Thoroughbred racing is a step in the right direction."

"The public thinks racing is fixed. This would help to change that perception."

Platt said the results are in line with a survey of HANA members earlier this year by research company Penn Schoen Berland for the Jockey Club. The coalition said the survey results are in line with that study as well as polling conducted by the NTRA and McKInsey & Company in recent years that have determined:

• 77% of horseracing bettors consider the possibility of illegal drug use when handicapping. 

• Among those who form an opinion about whether trainers are using performance enhancing drugs (PEDs), three in five (60%) say they typically bet less on the race, compared with less than one in twenty (4%) who say they bet more. 

• 92% of horseracing bettors said they want to see uniform medication policies happen faster than they are happening now, and 

• 72% support a proposal to grant oversight of drug and medication testing and enforcement to USADA. 

Platt believes the results calling for improved regulation are in line with the opinions of horseplayers at-large, not just members of HANA. He said that while HANA likely will not join the Coalition, it was important to release results of the survey to allow the public to see that horseplayers want improved integrity.

Earlier this year Reps. Andy Barr, a Kentucky Republican, and Paul Tonko, a New York Democrat, introduced the Thoroughbred Horseracing Integrity Act of 2015. It would require any racetracks that participate in simulcast wagering to accept medication oversight by the new entity—the Thoroughbred Horseracing Anti-Doping Authority. The legislation would grant the USADA-shaped authority power over regulation, testing, and enforcement of equine medication use in Thoroughbred racing.

The specific question the HANA members were asked in the survey was: "Should the Horseplayers Association of North America lend its support to the Coalition for Horse Racing Integrity in their quest to reform drug use and enforcement in horse racing?"