Racehorses keep dying. Can McConnell’s new safety plan save Kentucky’s signature industry?

After years of turf wars over regulating horse racing, racetracks said Monday they have reached a compromise plan to create a national authority that would set standards for medication, drug testing and racetrack safety.

The news was announced at Keeneland days before the delayed running of the 146th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he will introduce in September the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act to create the authority.

“If we want to preserve horse racing and it’s future, we needed to act,” McConnell said. “We owe it to the horses, we owe it to the jockeys, we owe it to trainers, breeders and fans to make thoroughbred racing as fair and as safe as possible.”

Based largely on previous legislation introduced by Rep. Andy Barr, R-Lexington, the new bill would encompass standards for racing surfaces and safety. Barr said Monday that he and Rep. Paul Tonko, D-NY, will introduce mirror legislation in the House.

Much remains unclear about the bill, including how soon the legislation might be able to make it through Congress. The Senate is recessed until Sept. 8 and while the bill has bipartisan support, it would still have to clear both chambers of Congress in the midst of a contentious election year.

Bill Lear, a trustee on the Keeneland Association Board, said the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority will be formed this week as a non-profit entity. McConnell’s legislation will outline how much authority is given to the organization, which will be composed of two committees — one that focuses on track safety and one that focuses on anti-doping.

A blue ribbon panel will select people to serve on the board, the majority of whom will be from outside the racing industry and a minority of people within the industry who have no current involvement with racing.

“Therefore no conflicts, nothing to gain or lose by the rules considered and the rules adopted,” Lear said. He said the expertise would include people representing trainers, owners, breeders, jockeys, regulators, tracks and any other major constituencies.

McConnell and Barr unveiled the compromise legislation at Keeneland, which supports the bill. For the first time, Churchill Downs Inc. joined the other Triple Crown hosting tracks in supporting the uniform national agency.

Industry groups including the Breeders’ Cup, The Jockey Club and Water Hay Oats Alliance expressed support. The Humane Society of the U.S. also welcomed McConnell’s backing.

However, late Monday the National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, which represents trainers, released a statement saying that many stakeholders were left out of negotiations.

“Senator McConnell claims to have found compromise within the industry, yet no representative horsemen’s groups, horseplayers or veterinary leadership organizations seem to have been consulted in the collaboration,” Eric Hamelback, National NBPA CEO, said in the statement. “Because the legislative text has not yet been release, the National HBPA will reserve final judgment, but we caution our elected leaders to not be misled by the wealthy few who continue to promote federal legislation in service to their own, private interest. Based on what we heard today, we are concerned these elite few continue to hold the reins.”

McConnell said he was moved to act after an editorial in March urging that horseracing be abolished following the federal indictments of more than two dozen people in a widespread doping scheme. Jason Servis, who trained Maximum Security, the horse that was disqualified from winning the 2019 Kentucky Derby, was among those indicted in New York.

It isn’t clear how the authority will be funded, except that it won’t be paid for by taxpayers. The entity will set its own budget to be approved by the Federal Trade Commission, Lear said.

Barr has been pushing to pass uniform anti-doping standards since 2015, but his bill has been hampered by competing visions within the racing community. Lear said the biggest difference between Monday’s agreement and Barr’s bill is the inclusion of a committee to set track safety standards, which removed the direct involvement of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.

This is the most involvement McConnell has had in the issue since Barr began introducing the legislation.

The USADA will still contract with the board to handle drug-testing and enforcement for the authority, but will not make up the majority of the members of the board.

Currently, the 38 states that allow horse racing set their own rules and penalties, although most follow uniform standards established by industry groups. They typically honor penalties imposed by other jurisdictions.

This story was originally published August 31, 2020 at 3:44 PM.

Daniel Desrochers

Lexington Herald-Leader

859-231-3210

Daniel Desrochers has been the political reporter for the Lexington Herald-Leader since 2016. He previously worked for the Charleston Gazette-Mail in Charleston, West Virginia. Support my work with a digital subscription