Columbus, OH — The Seattle Times is reporting that Emerald Downs, the Thoroughbred racetrack in Auburn, Wash., might be forced out of business by 2026 because of exorbitant costs imposed upon it by the Horseracing Integrity & Safety Act (HISA).
It is a story that everyone involved in American harness racing should read. For seven years, the USTA has met with hundreds of legislators’ offices in Washington, D.C., to articulate its grave concerns about HISA’s potential impact upon harness racing, including the financial implications of the Act. These warnings, sadly, now appear to be prescient. The future of HISA lies in its survival of myriad challenges to its constitutionality, a matter that very likely will wind up being decided by the Supreme Court later this year or in the first half of 2026. If HISA is not struck down, it will soon come to harness racing, and, with it, the existential threats that are currently on Emerald Downs’ doorstep.
For further details, read this piece from the National HBPA.