The Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce Committee of the United States House of Representatives will hold a hearing tomorrow morning on HR 2012, a bill to “improve the integrity and safety of interstate horseracing.”
The proposed bill would accomplish that by taking control of medication issues away from the states and giving it instead to the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) and, of course, to Congress. The bill would also eliminate the raceday use of furosemide, commonly known as Lasix.
Six witnesses are scheduled, only one — Phil Hanrahan, of the National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association — representing a national racing or breeding organization. Conspicuous by their absence are the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, The Jockey Club, and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association. Also missing are the organizations that in recent months have led the effort to implement regional — and perhaps ultimately national — uniform medication policies in racing, the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium, Association of Racing Commissioners International, and Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Associations.
The witnesses, along with quotes from their prepared testimony:
[table id=46 /]The House bill, proposed by Rep. Joe Pitts (R-PA), has attracted seven cosponsors. A companion Senate bill, S. 973, was introduced by Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM) and has one cosponsor, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR).
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It’s a shame that the industry can’t police itself but brings in the Federal Government, a surefire way to add much more overhead to racing.
Thanks for weighing in, Karl. Not sure how likely this bill is to pass, but my guess is, not very.