In a letter from the Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI) President Ed Martin to the Thoroughbred Daily News on February 2, he once again defends the status quo with little truth and no real solution. There is no reason for racing a lack of national consensus on drug safety and control rules and regulations.
Ed has defended the status quo for years. In 2018 and again in 2020, Ed testified before Congress against the predecessor of the Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA), saying it was “radical and unfettered federalization”. necessary for state accountability to be effectively enforced.”
Effective workout?
Apparently, he chose to ignore the federal arrests in March 2020 and the final convictions for the 27 trainers and veterinarians who happened to have been operating worry-free for years. under Ed’s racing commissioners. He chooses to ignore that our industry no longer operates in a vacuum, that our equestrians have supporters outside of the racetrack and that they influence the racers. state and federal legislation. In the end, Ed chose to ignore the fact that HISA worked hard and largely partnered with states and racetracks to implement HISA’s rules.
Ed needs to be reminded, again, how we got here.
Over the decades, regulators have repeatedly “promised” to clean up horse racing. There have been countless calls for uniformity of the rule since as far as I can remember. Almost every industry conference touts the future as having nationally standardized rules with stronger enforcement. The concept is nothing new, but thanks to HISA, it is the first time that the goal is truly within our reach.
The Racing Drug and Test Association has done a lot of good for the industry, but the nationwide reform we thought would come from it never materialized. I was hoping for the National Uniform Drug Program (NUMP), but again, regulators of different jurisdictions cannot issue the same rules and regulations across the country. In 2020, The Jockey Club developed a scorecard for NUMP to see if it worked. Not so. Only nine states have fully adopted all four phases of the program; 16 states apply only one. Mid-Atlantic countries have joined forces for years to comply with NUMP, but most other regions have not.
Ed Martin
Ed has long suggested that a federal racing agreement between state regulators is all we need. He conveniently omitted that there was an agreement and that it attracted almost no support from members of the ARCI. With the ability for individual countries to reject rules they don’t support, the deal compacts it all but ensures the same tangle of inconsistent and conflicting rules between countries in which many are involved. Key industry has long wanted to fix.
Ed wrote, “It’s hard for some of us who’ve been around for a while to see if this situation can be avoided.” In a way, he’s right on that point. HISA would never have had an adverse legal decision if the Equestrian Integrity and Safety Act had never become law. However, for those of us who want change, Ed’s old suggestions are to “gather everyone into one room and offer an alternative approach to avoid costly lawsuits.” and endless” reflects an inability to understand or appreciate that there is division. in this industry between those who enjoy the illusory comfort of the status quo and those who know that if racing really exists it must have the preeminent goal of ensuring the safety of the athletes and the integrity of the game.
Perhaps Ed fought against HISA in the first place because he was afraid people would realize that ARCI had failed its mission. According to the ARCI website, it sets “…international standards for racing regulation, drug policy, drug testing labs, synthetic systems, operations and track security, as well as off-track betting organizations.” So, HISA is making drug regulatory standards consistent and meaningful, something ARCI never did.
It is clear to anyone in or out of the race that our current state-based safety, drug control, and anti-doping rule structure is not equipped to create national unity and set forth high standards of safety and integrity.
As we learned in March 2020, the FBI and outside investigators have used resources to get the job done and bring justice to the fraudsters who blatantly manipulate racing, while exposing expose the incompetence of governing bodies that should have protected the sport. The Jockey Club has long advocated creating a national approach based on federal law because we recognize that horse racing, as a national sport, cannot survive if history over and over again and never achieve national unity.
Yet again, Ed Martin is defending the status quo. Don’t let him rewrite the history he deserves to own.
