Columbus, OH – The United States Trotting Association (USTA) applauded Thursday’s (June 11) unanimous ruling by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, finding the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) unconstitutional for a third time. The court ruled, “HISA violates the nondelegation doctrine” by unlawfully giving governmental power to a private corporation.
Last year, the Supreme Court sent the case back to the Fifth Circuit to decide again in light of its recent Consumers’ Research case. In that case, governmental powers were not taken away from a government agency and delegated to a private entity. Today, the Fifth Circuit found that case does not alter the Fifth Circuit’s prior unanimous decision against HISA.
The decision marks another significant legal setback for HISA, a federal law that has faced repeated constitutional challenges since its enactment. The court’s ruling underscores the serious concerns that many stakeholders have raised regarding the law’s structure, oversight, and delegation of regulatory authority.
The USTA is currently petitioning the Supreme Court for review of its own legal challenge to HISA. Today’s ruling creates a conflict with the Sixth Circuit’s decision in the USTA case, increasing the likelihood that the Supreme Court will grant review.
“We consider it highly likely that the Supreme Court will grant certiorari in our case to resolve the conflict that now exists among the federal circuits,” said Russell Williams, president of the USTA. “When the United States Trotting Association and the other plaintiffs filed their constitutional challenge to HISA, HISA supporters said we would lose because HISA is modeled on FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. But this is not true. We feel confident the Supreme Court will agree with today’s ruling that HISA is unconstitutional.”
Williams continued, “HISA is broken, and it’s time to pivot to the Racehorse Health and Safety Act. The USTA fully supports RHSA to replace HISA because the RHSA will be based on sound veterinary science rather than optics.”
The USTA has been working closely to develop RHSA with others in the industry, including the National HBPA, which won today’s court ruling. RHSA has been introduced and championed by Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) and Representative Clay Higgins (LA-03). RHSA will establish an interstate compact to develop scientific medication control rules and racetrack safety rules, allowing only participating states to export simulcast signals for interstate, offsite betting.
“The RHSA will focus on what’s best for the health of the racehorse,” said Williams. “It was developed in cooperation with racehorse veterinarians and requires that all rules be based on generally accepted scientific principles,” he continued. “It’s time to adopt sensible government regulation that does not trample the constitutional rights of horsemen or create any crippling financial burden on the horseracing industry.”
United States Trotting Association
The USTA is a 17,000-member non-profit association of Standardbred horse owners, breeders, drivers, trainers, and officials headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. It was founded in 1939 and creates the rules of harness racing, licenses persons involved in harness racing, and ensures the humane treatment of Standardbred horses. Before state racing commissions began to regulate harness racing in the 1960s, the USTA was the sole regulatory body for harness racing. Standardbred horses, drivers, and trainers must be registered with the USTA to be eligible to race in North America.