Supreme Court keeps federal horse racing law on books, for now

WASHINGTON (CN) — The Supreme Court on Monday temporarily reinstated a federal horse racing integrity law that was found unconstitutional by the Fifth Circuit.

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act was enacted after high-profile horse racing scandals including 30 horses dying in one California park in 2019 and a 2020 indictment charging 27 people in a doping scheme.

Opposition to an industry watchdog, however, threatens to tank the bipartisan reform effort. In July, the Fifth Circuit found the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority unconstitutional because of its enforcement mechanism.

The racing authority filed an emergency appeal at the Supreme Court earlier on Monday, warning that allowing the ruling to stand threatened chaos in the industry.

“It would plunge horseracing back into a confusing web of varying enforcement protocols, disrupt the entrenched expectations of a national industry that has adjusted to the federal reforms over two-plus years, and imperil the human and equine athletes who have been protected by the successful programs Congress directed,” the authority wrote. “The data are clear: More horses would die and more cheaters would prosper.”

The conservative appeals court ruling was set to take effect on Wednesday, but Justice Samuel Alito, a George H.W. Bush appointee, offered the authority temporary relief from the ruling while justices decide its fate.

Alito asked challengers to the law to respond to the application by Sept. 30.

Congress passed and former President Donald Trump signed the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act in 2020, nationalizing rules and safety measures including uniform enforcement of racetrack safety, medication control and anti-doping rules.

Lawmakers said the private Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority would enforce the new regulations with approval and oversight from the Federal Trade Commission.

Since 2022, the law has governed over 67,000 horses and 35,000 athletes across 19 states. Some groups have resisted the rule, however.

A national horsemen’s association and Texas-based racetracks challenged the law, claiming its enforcement mechanism was unconstitutional. The Fifth Circuit agreed, ruling that the law violated the private-nondelegation doctrine because the regulatory board could override the government.

Lawmakers revised the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act in 2022, giving the Federal Trade Commission authority to overrule the racing authority. President Joe Biden signed the bipartisan amendment into law.

Satisfied with the change, the Sixth Circuitupheld the law, ruling that the amendment made the regulatory subordinate to the agency. The Fifth Circuit, however, still found errors. The appeals court said the agency rulemaking problem, but the enforcement provisions still violated the private nondelegation doctrine.

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority said the appeals court ruling jeopardizes safety advancements made over two years, including lowering racing-related equine fatality rates by 50%. The regulator said rising safety rates coincided with increased confidence in the sport.

“Paid purse amounts have risen in almost all States in which covered horseraces were held from 2021 to 2023 — reversing the downward trend from prior years,” the authority wrote. “Overall, in States in which HISA rules applied to horseraces last year, the total purse amount paid in 2023 was more than 20% greater than the total purse amount paid in 2021.”

The nationwide ban would revert uniform horse racing standards to the chaos that led to safety concerns, according to the authority.

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority said it planned to submit a certiorari petition in December but encouraged the justices to grant full review from the watchdog’s emergency appeal.

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