A federal judge has granted the states of Louisiana and West Virginia an injunction against the implementation of horseracing regulations by a nonprofit authority, but the judge stopped short of ruling the new federal program unconstitutional.
Judge Terry Doughty of the Western District of Louisiana issued the ruling late last month. The action shields the two states as well as the Louisiana State Racing Commission and other groups representing jockeys and thoroughbred breeders from rules created by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA).
The judge’s decision was a victory for Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, who helped to spearhead the litigation against HISA and has argued that the new federal regulatory regime for the horseracing industry would result in onerous financial burdens for those who work in the industry.
““I am grateful Judge Doughty applied the law and blocked this federal overreach from devastating our state and the thousands of Louisianans in the horse industry here,” Landry said in a statement provided to the Louisiana Record. “Since becoming a state in 1812, Louisiana has not only regulated horseracing but also built an entire culture around it with the owners, trainers, jockeys, racetracks and patrons.”
HISA is a private, nonprofit corporation authorized by federal law to develop national regulations on anti-doping and racetrack safety to protect both horses and people. States are either required to pay for the regulatory programs or assess fees on people covered under the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act of 2021.
“Congress ramrodded HISA into the COVID relief bill and recklessly set up this massive regulatory scheme that is onerous at best on everyone,” Landry said. “Then to add insult to injury, it is paid for on the backs of those who work the hardest and receive the least.”
The Federal Trade Commission is charged with reviewing the HISA’s proposed rules. HISA was supposed to develop its anti-doping and racetrack safety programs by July 1 of this year, but that deadline has been pushed back a year.
The lawsuit filed by Louisiana and West Virginia argues that regulations originating with the authority “suffer from fatal flaws under the Administrative Procedure Act,” which underpins how federal agencies create and issue regulations.
“The court believes the threatened harm to plaintiffs outweighs any harm that may result to the defendants and that a preliminary injunction will not undermine the public interest,” Doughty’s opinion states.
Louisiana animal welfare groups declined to comment about the court ruling.