FTC

A Monday order out of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit shot down a request for a rarely granted "en banc" procedure that the Horseracing and Safety Integrity Act (HISA) Authority and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) had asked for last month. Had the long-shot legal maneuver been successful, it would have granted a rehearing before all of that court's judges to review a July 5, 2024, opinion issued by a panel of three that had declared HISA is unconstitutional because its enforcement provisions violate the...

Ahead of a Wednesday federal court hearing to determine if a temporary injunction is warranted in Oklahoma to keep the Horseracing and Safety Integrity Act (HISA) from being enforced in that state, the HISA Authority filed a legal response Monday that stated "there is no emergency" that would merit such action. The Authority further told the court that the eight licensed Remington Park horsepeople who are plaintiffs in the case are engaging in "foot-dragging and gamesmanship" in their repeated efforts to derail HISA on the grounds of alleged unconstitutionality. In...

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has approved the proposed rule changes to the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA)'s Racetrack Safety Program and the changes will take effect starting July 8, the organization announced Friday via presser. The 30-day window before the official start day allows for an educational campaign so as to prepare the industry for the changes, an effort which will include handbooks, webinars, posters, HISA portal messaging and social media outreach. The revisions come after extensive dialogue and feedback from industry participants, including from the Horsemen's Advisory...

Both the jockey and the owner/breeder of the second-place finisher in the Feb. 18 GIII Sunland Derby have filed a notice of appeal with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in an attempt to reverse a more-than-six-strikes whipping disqualification under Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) rules that cost them the placing in that stakes and $85,360 in purse winnings. At issue is the contention by jockey Oscar Ceballos and Eleanor Martin, the owner/breeder of Alotaluck (Sir Prancealot {Ire}), that some of the 11 strikes of the whip that Ceballos administered...

Trainer Jonathan Wong's legal team has filed an application with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for the agency to review an April decision by an FTC chief administrative law judge affirming an earlier Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) arbitration panel ruling which suspended Wong for two years and fined him $25,000 for a 2023 post-race metformin positive. Metformin is a type 2 diabetes drug that HISA has classified as a banned substance. The application for review asks the FTC to conduct a de novo review of chief administrative law...

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has affirmed an earlier Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) arbitration panel ruling against trainer Jonathan Wong, suspending him for two years and fining him $25,000 for a 2023 post-race metformin positive. Metformin is a type 2 diabetes drug that HISA has classified as a banned substance. The next step in the appeals process would be a request for review by the FTC of the FTC administrative law judge's decision, according to a Horseracing Integrity and Safety Unit (HIWU) spokesperson. Wong will instead take the...

HISA has introduced U.S. Thoroughbred racing's first-ever recommended national concussion protocol for jockeys, the entity said in a release Thursday morning. Under HISA's Racetrack Safety rules, racetracks are required to implement a concussion protocol for jockeys. HISA's recommended protocol would become mandatory for all racetracks under their jurisdiction, when and if, the FTC approves the proposed changes, which were submitted last month. HISA's national concussion protocol was developed in consultation with leading experts to protect the health and safety of jockeys across the country and brings racing in line with...

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) has submitted proposed changes to its Enforcement Rules (Rule Series 8000) and Registration Rules (Rule Series 9000) to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for review. The FTC will subsequently post the proposed rules to the public register for public comment. DOWNLOAD: Redlined proposed changes - Enforcement Rules (Rule Series 8000) DOWNLOAD: Redlined proposed changes - Registration Rules (Rule Series 9000) Until changes to the Enforcement Rules and Registration Rules are approved by the FTC, the previously approved version of the  rules will remain...

Edited Press Release The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) has submitted proposed rule changes to its Racetrack Safety Program to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for review. A red-lined document noting these proposed changes is available here. The FTC will subsequently post the proposed rules to the public register for public comment. Until changes to the rules are approved by the FTC, the previously approved version of HISA's Racetrack Safety rules, which took effect July 1, 2022, will remain in place. Those rules are available in full on HISA's...

Two days after the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) Authority disclosed at a press conference last week that it had initiated discussions with sales companies in an attempt to bring about voluntary compliance with medication policies throughout the lifetimes of Thoroughbreds, the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (NHBPA) went on record with a letter filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit alleging that those efforts equate to improper rulemaking by the Authority and "preferential treatment" for breeders. The purpose of the HISA Authority's...

A federal judge has stayed a 14-month-old lawsuit initiated by the states of Louisiana and West Virginia that is trying to wipe out the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) via alleged constitutional violations, ordering the case to be "administratively terminated" until the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals makes a ruling in a separate suit in which the Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (HBPA) is also alleging HISA is unconstitutional. However, U.S. District Court (Western District of Louisiana) Chief Judge Terry Doughty wrote in his Sept. 14 ruling...

In a decision handed down Monday, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) overturned a decision by Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) stewards at Albuquerque Downs Racetrack last September who ruled that jockey Oscar Ceballos had struck his mount, Sheriff Brown (Curlin), in the Downs At Albuquerque H. five more times than the maximum six strikes permitted by HISA. The sanctions imposed by the Albuquerque Downs stewards that day included a fine and suspension for the jockey, and disqualification of the horse's purse earnings. It is understood that this is the...