HISA Officials: Be Careful With Assumptions About Rules

The proposed drug and safety rules that are being reviewed by the Horseracing Safety and Integrity Authority are still numerous, and industry stakeholders should not assume anything about what the organizers end up saying. may ultimately decide, the representative told regulators on Dec.

HISA advisor Tom DiPasquale and advisor John Roche answered questions during the final hour of the afternoon meeting of the International Association of Racing Commissioners’ Rules Drafting Committee. They often cite lingering uncertainty about the draft language’s current status or its eventual fate before the governing HISA board or Federal Trade Commission.

Regulators represented on the ARCI committee were also hampered in their efforts to determine the cost of HISA control to the industry or how to allocate those costs among race participants.

HISA was created by Congress to take over the administration of horse racing in the United States — tasks currently performed by state equestrian commissions. Draft race safety rules have been submitted to the board. The drug-related rules will go into effect before the end of the year. Cost considerations will be resolved in 2022, the HISA representative said.

“You all know that this process usually takes a year or two,” says DiPasquale. “That’s the average time for federal rulemaking. And it’s been squeezed out for several months. So what we have in front of us is an imperfect rule, but it can be done. significantly better over the 60-day comment period.”

He also urged the committee to “be careful when making assumptions about what the HISA Board will do. They are nine very talented, intelligent, independent thinkers who will make their own judgments. about whether what’s suggested from the advisor. the committees… is in the best interest of the race.”

ARCI’s president, Ed Martin, said the fragmentation process makes meaningful comment difficult.

“A lot of people have expressed concerns to me that the entire program isn’t being delivered and it’s hard to comment on a portion, especially if you don’t know what the final cost will be, and obviously there are options Martin said.

“With all due respect to the HISA board, it’s hard for anyone to accept this without understanding the whole program and then what the potential costs are and it’s proposed to be covered as how.”

“I completely understand your point,” Roche said. “But, I mean, I wish I had another year, too.”

Martin also criticized the sudden announcement a day earlier by HISA president Charles Scheeler that testing would be conducted in phases with local regulators expected to continue collecting and testing. race day samples to 2022.

“As I understand it, it is a matter of negotiation between the states and the enforcement agency,” Martin said, noting that HISA has not yet contracted with the enforcement agency. “It’s not something you can make generic announcements without those talks.

“We are shocked that such an announcement would be made on a public forum the way it is. We are absolutely shocked… We are open to finding this out with you. We are ready to go. cooperate with you. And that will be a country-by-country decision. But to come up with a joint decision and to assume that racing would continue without those arrangements, it’s completely a matter of course. assumption.”

In other action, the committee tabulated further consideration of a proposal to amend its model rules to extend the drug ban period from 24 hours to 48 hours and establish an “extension period” for reported drug violations related to changes or laboratory changes in the screening methodology.

The committee has released a proposed rule change model regarding the use of Thyroxin, a drug used to treat hypothyroidism. The proposal would limit the use of the drug to horses diagnosed with that condition through the Thyrotropin-Releasing Hormone Response Test.

Proposals to significantly revise the rules of the ARCI model regarding multiracial staking groups have been withdrawn for additional input and consideration.