US Court of Appeals

Facing a United States Court of Appeals decision from the Fifth Circuit that the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) is unconstitutional and battling three similar lawsuits in various stages within the federal court system, the HISA Authority and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) were informed Monday that a U.S. District Court judge in Texas won't grant those defendants a requested stay that would halt the briefing schedule in that case pending a final resolution of the Fifth Circuit order. "No Good Cause Exists to Stay This Action," wrote U.S....

The National HBPA and its affiliates got their wish Friday. The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that the Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) is unconstitutional. As a result, HISA is on life support and very well could be finished. Within hours of the decision being announced, the National HBPA was taking a victory lap, declaring that this was a win for horsemen across the country. "Today's ruling shows the HISA regulations are not in the best interest of thoroughbred racing's participants and, as...

In advance of oral arguments scheduled Aug. 30 in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, the two sides involved in the injunction appeal brought by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act Authority (HISA) have filed legal briefs that they hope will sway the court to their side of the case. Both HISA and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) are defendants in an underlying lawsuit led by the states of Louisiana and West Virginia, plus the Jockeys' Guild, that alleges unconstitutionality and federal rulemaking procedure violations regarding...

A temporary "administrative stay" ruling issued Wednesday night by a panel of three judges from the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit means that "pending further consideration," Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act Authority (HISA) rules are back in effect nationwide. The Aug. 3 court order trumps a preliminary injunction issued July 26 by a lower U.S. District Court (Western District of Louisiana) judge that had halted the HISA rules in Louisiana and West Virginia pending the outcome of an underlying lawsuit in that court. In that June...

Just six days after Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) opponents won a round in court in which a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction that halted implementation of HISA rules going into effect in Louisiana and West Virginia, HISA and the Federal Trade Commission were back in court Monday filing an emergency motion for a stay pending appeal. The motion was filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. The filing from HISA maintains that when granting the preliminary injunction, the court erred in...

In the aftermath of a federal judge's ruling earlier this week that will keep the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) rules from going into effect in Louisiana and West Virginia while a lawsuit challenging those regulations is pending, the HISA Authority responded Friday with a series of legal actions that attempt to both reverse and clarify that injunction order. The most significant of the July 29 filings from the HISA Authority defendants was a notice that they are appealing Judge Terry Doughty's July 26 decision to grant a preliminary...