The continuation of the Equestrian Integrity and Safety Administration’s Anti-Doping Health Control Program has been suspended by a federal judge this spring until this spring, according to a Pennsylvania regulatory official. May 1st, now aiming to restart on May 22nd.
Tom Chuckas, director of the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s Thoroughbred racing division, noted the potential delay at the April 25 Pennsylvania Jockey Commission meeting. Chuckas mentioned the delay in informing the trustees about the HISA and the Welfare and Equestrian Integrity Unit, which will operate the ADMC Program.
“HIWU contacted me (April 21st) to be informed that based on Triple Crown, based on multiple prologues, that May 1st would not be the launch date. That would be May 22nd. ,” Chuckas told the commissioners.
This announced delay, if accurate, means that the ADMC Program will resume after the first two legs of the Triple Crown, the Kentucky Derby (G1) May 6 at Churchill Downs and May 20 Preakness Stakes (G1) at Racecourse Pimlico. Therefore, the horse testing process for those races will follow the rules and procedures of the Kentucky and Maryland governing bodies.
HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus declined to comment, saying that the Federal Trade Commission, which oversees HISA, had not formally notified HISA of any delays. HISA has been attacked for failing to comply with the FTC in its ongoing litigation.
The ADMC program ran for only four days in late March before James Hendrix, US District Court Judge for the Northern District of Texas, Lubbock Division, ordered the program to be halted for 30 days. His ruling, in response to a HISA challenge lawsuit by the National Horsemen’s Protection and Benevolence Association, the state of Texas, the Texas Racing Commission and others, called for the immediate implementation of the Chapter. submitting to the ADMC after approving the FTC’s rules is a violation of the Administrative Procedures Act.
According to HISA, the early days of sample collection in the ADMC Program went smoothly before it was suspended.
The ADMC program aims to create centralized testing and unified rules for addressing equine drug violations. It follows the Track Safety Program introduced for the first time by HISA which regulates the use of riding rods, horseshoes and general safety issues. That program is currently being implemented in all but four states.
Both HISA and HBPA have won court victories over the past year, but the legality of HISA has been hotly contested since a U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling last year declared the law to allow HISA is unconstitutional. That delayed the ADMC Program’s initial launch date of January 1 and prompted Congress to pass clarification language this winter that bolsters its regulatory position with more oversight by the FTC. for HISA.
A hearing in the case based in the Northern District of Texas is scheduled for April 26 before Hendrix, who on Tuesday rejected an expedited discovery request made by opponents of HISA.
