Speaking on December 7, officials from the Equestrian Integrity and Safety Authority and the Equestrian Integrity and Welfare Unit summarized the initial HISA findings and outlined the Control procedures. Anti-Doping and Drug Control will begin January 1.
Their comments came Wednesday afternoon during the closing session of the University of Arizona’s Global Symposium on Racing in the Race Industry Program at the Loews Ventana Canyon Resort in Tucson, Ariz.
Not mentioned in the session was the legitimacy of the act that authorized HISA following a November 18 ruling from the US Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals that the act was essentially unconstitutional. Appeals to that court decision, as well as other HISA-related legal cases working their way through the legal system, can be binding in court for months. HISA has been legally opposed by groups including several state racing commissions, racetracks and horsemen’s organizations.
If the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals decision is in effect, it will not take effect until January 10, at the earliest, after the ADMC Program is launched as planned earlier in the year.
That new program will provide uniform U.S. drug rules in Thoroughbred racing related to anti-doping, controlled drugs, equine testing and investigations, and standards for laboratories and arbitration proceedings.
Not all welcome the scrutiny of HISA and HIWU. The International Association of Racing Commissioners issued a press release on Wednesday before the afternoon session, saying its board unanimously asked the Federal Trade Commission to delay final action. along with the ADMC rules proposed by HISA until the constitutional questions at issue are resolved. The organization’s request was made “in the face of impending regulatory chaos,” the release said.
“The choice for the FTC is clear, state rules are better than no rules at all in this time of legal uncertainty,” said Ed Martin, ARCI president.
During Wednesday’s panel, HISA officials made no mention of alternative plans if the federal bill’s unconstitutional nature were upheld. They mainly provide an information session about the HIWU rules.
Kate Mittelstadt, chief executive officer of HIWU, said the organization intends to have staff on duty at the tracks during the first days of the race under the RMTC program to oversee sample collection. She said that a paperless system, implemented with the support of Incompass Solutions, will be put to the test.
HIWU will use laboratories accredited by the Society for Racing Drugs and Tests that have long been used in many racing jurisdictions, albeit under the amendments “so that 2023 begins to meet HIWU’s enhanced needs,” said HIWU Scientific Director, Dr. Mary Scollay. She added that a double-blind program will be used.
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