from the Empire State Harness Horsemen’s Alliance

Editor’s Note: Following is a statement received by the USTA from the Empire State Harness Horsemen’s Alliance in New York regarding the New York State Gaming Commission’s recently announced final regulations governing the conduct of Out-of-Competition Testing in harness racing. For further information, contact Alex Dadoyan at 914/968-3599 or alexdadoyan@gmail.com.

Recently, the New York State Gaming Commission announced that it has promulgated final regulations governing the conduct of Out-of-Competition Testing in harness racing. In light of this announcement, the Empire State Harness Horsemen’s Alliance (ESHHA), representing the interests of thousands of owners, trainers and drivers who regularly compete at harness tracks in New York State, wish to make clear its position regarding Out-of-Competition Testing.

ESHHA affirms its position that Out-of-Competition Testing can be an effective tool among an arsenal of investigatory and enforcement devices utilized in the furtherance of integrity in racing. ESHHA’s concerns are not grounded in the concept of testing horses who are not competing at a certain point in time but rather regulations that are not seen as effective in the fight to control medication abuse. The problem for harness horsemen is the unconstitutional, unscientific, often contradictory and overly broad scope employed by the Gaming Commission in its proposed conduct of the testing.

The recently promulgated rules do nothing to ameliorate the potential overall harm to the industry which was contained in proposed regulations the Gaming Commission’s predecessor, the New York State Racing and Wagering Board, attempted to implement in 2010. That compilation of introduced regs was challenged by the industry in court, and while a trial level judge struck down the majority of the Racing Board’s proposal, the Appellate Division, Third Department was less sympathetic to the horsemen’s concerns. The industry’s concerns regarding that original introduction and the specifics of Out-of-Competition Testing in general, will now be heard by the state’s highest court, the N.Y.S. Court of Appeals, with oral argument scheduled for mid-November.

In sum, ESHHA will continue its attempts to work with the Gaming Commission to establish an Out-of-Competition protocol that is both rational and legal, and continue with equal fervor to resist attempts to implement rules with no basis in law or science.