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A RESOLUTION urging Congress to fund the Horseracing Integrity and Safety 1
Authority through federal appropriation rather than fees charged to individual states and 2
racetracks. 3
WHEREAS, the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) was created as 4
an organization that regulates the sport of Thoroughbred horse racing in the United States 5
and was empowered by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act of 2020; and 6
WHEREAS, HISA submits to the regulatory authority of the Federal Trade 7
Commission (FTC), resulting from a challenge at the United States Court of Appeals, and 8
promulgates rules subject to modification and approval by the FTC; and 9
WHEREAS, HISA has jurisdiction over races that are involved in interstate 10
commerce, including those that are subject to off-track betting and advance deposit 11
wagering, and the horses and horse people who participate in those races; and 12
WHEREAS, HISA is responsible for developing and enforcing rules for racetrack 13
safety, regulating such matters as track surface maintenance, veterinary oversight, injury 14
data reporting, jockey safety, horseshoe requirements, and use of riding crops; and 15
WHEREAS, HISA levies fines and suspensions from racing for violations of the 16
rules; and 17
WHEREAS, HISA is also charged with developing anti-doping and medication 18
control rules to ensure fairness and protect the health of equines and the jockeys who ride 19
them; and 20
WHEREAS, HISA must also cover its technology and administration costs; and 21
WHEREAS, HISA operates on revenues from fines related to the racetrack safety 22
and anti-doping and medication control programs plus fee assessments on individual 23
states and racetracks, with the fee assessments calculated on a formula totaling starts and 24
purses; and 25
WHEREAS, individual racing commissions can choose to cover the assessed fee 26
for the state, decline to cover these financial assessments and pass the burden onto the 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 24 RS BR 2469
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racetracks in the state, which can then pass the costs along to horse people and customers, 1
or state legislatures can appropriate funding to pay the fee assessment; and 2
WHEREAS, commissions that voluntarily enter into agreements with HISA to have 3
existing personnel conduct tasks like sample collection, investigation, and violation 4
adjudication, receive a credit toward their state's total fee assessment, reducing revenues 5
received by HISA; and 6
WHEREAS, HISA's revenues are further reduced by the nonparticipation of states 7
choosing to avoid the financial burden of the assessment fees by not sending their 8
simulcasting signal out of state, thereby avoiding this federal program's jurisdiction, 9
obviously not an ideal situation; and 10
WHEREAS, HISA's budget inevitably exceeds the revenues it receives to continue 11
this mission and work; 12
NOW, THEREFORE, 13
Be it resolved by the Senate of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of 14
Kentucky: 15
Section 1. The members of the Senate hereby recognize the importance of 16
consistently robust and reliable safety regulation of the Thoroughbred horseracing sport 17
while acknowledging participants and spectators value the same. 18
Section 2. The Senate hereby urges the United States Congress to fund the 19
Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority through federal appropriation rather than the 20
assessment fees levied on states and racetracks. 21
Section 3. The Clerk of the Senate is directed to transmit a copy of this 22
Resolution to the President of the United States Senate, the Majority Leader of the United 23
States Senate, and each member of the Kentucky Congressional delegation. 24