For Immediate Release – February 2, 2023 – It is important that we get as many comments sent to the FTC as possible to demand disapproval of the ADMC Rules posted by HISA. Please file a comment online by following these instructions: Write “HISA Anti-Doping and Medication Control” on your comment and file your comment online at https://www.regulations.gov under the docket number FTC-2023-0009. Feel free to use the below message to paste into the comment box provided.
As a horseman currently racing in Oklahoma I am submitting comments asking the FTC to DISAPPROVE the proposed HISA Anti-Doping and Medication Control Rules. On December 12, 2022, the FTC disapproved an almost identical version of this Rule. The reasoning was based on the fact the rules were not consistent with the Act which calls for the establishment of uniformity in the horseracing. The disapproval states clearly that uniformity cannot be achieved until “the legal uncertainty regarding the Act’s constitutionality comes to be resolved.” We know the legal uncertainty has not been resolved, and any rules promulgated in furtherance of the Act should be considered unconstitutional, thus null and void. Therefore, it is incumbent upon you to disapprove the Rule once again.
Additionally, the Fifth Circuit recently declined to revisit their opinion when asked to do so by the Authority and you, the FTC; therefore, we know the with certainty the legal uncertainty remains unresolved, and the FTC decision to disapprove the ADMC Rules in December remains the correct one now.
Furthermore, the continued uncertainty in the court system over the constitutionality of this law, the proposed rules themselves have unworkable issues which must be addressed. Attached are the National HBPA and NAARV submission to the FTC which lay out numerous concerns horsemen nationwide have with these proposed rules.
Without question, the vast majority of horsemen and horsewomen who are being forced to race under the HISA regulations, DO NOT support HISA.
NHBPA FTC Letter PDF Here
