Horseracing Integrity Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1820 To improve the integrity and safety of horseracing by requiring a uniform anti-doping and medication control program to be developed and enforced by an independent Horseracing Anti-Doping and Medication Control Au- thority. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 12, 2019 Mrs. GILLIBRAND (for herself and Ms. MCSALLY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation A BILL To improve the integrity and safety of horseracing by requir- ing a uniform anti-doping and medication control pro- gram to be developed and enforced by an independent Horseracing Anti-Doping and Medication Control Au- thority. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Horseracing Integrity 4 Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:21 Jun 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1820.IS S1820 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 1820 IS (1) Recognizing the substantial relation that 1 horseracing has to interstate commerce, Congress 2 enacted the Interstate Horseracing Act of 1978 (15 3 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.) to regulate pari-mutuel wager- 4 ing on horseracing in order to protect and further 5 the horseracing industry of the United States. This 6 Act does not modify or supplement the Interstate 7 Horseracing Act of 1978 or impair or restrict the 8 operation and enforcement of State law or regulation 9 of horseracing with respect to matters unrelated to 10 anti-doping and medication control or for violations 11 of State or Federal criminal law. 12 (2) Approximately 40 percent of the 635,890 13 starts by Thoroughbred, Quarter Horse, and Stan- 14 dardbred racehorses in 2018 were made by horses 15 that competed in more than one State. Those Thor- 16 oughbred, Quarter Horse, and Standardbred race- 17 horses which participated in races in more than one 18 State in 2018 made over 55 percent of all United 19 States racing starts that year. 20 (3) Uniform adoption of national anti-doping 21 and medication control standards for horseracing in 22 the United States will promote interstate commerce, 23 encourage fair competition and a level playing field, 24 assure full and fair disclosure of information to pur- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:21 Jun 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1820.IS S1820 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 1820 IS chasers of breeding stock and to the wagering pub- 1 lic, will improve the marketplace for domestic and 2 international sales of United States horses, will pro- 3 vide a platform for consistency with all major inter- 4 national horseracing standards, address growing do- 5 mestic concerns over disparities with international 6 rules, and provide for the safety and welfare of 7 horses and jockeys. 8 (4) The use of therapeutic medications in horse- 9 racing in the United States must place the health 10 and welfare of the horse at the highest level of pri- 11 ority while achieving consistency with the uses per- 12 mitted in major international horseracing jurisdic- 13 tions. Because the various States have been unable 14 to adopt a national uniform anti-doping and medica- 15 tion control program, national uniform regulations 16 with respect to the use of, and testing for, drugs ca- 17 pable of affecting the results of a horse race and 18 therapeutic medications used in horseracing, such 19 rules, procedures, and enforcement policies should be 20 implemented, consistent with internationally accept- 21 ed best practices, by an independent anti-doping and 22 medication control organization authorized by an act 23 of Congress. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:21 Jun 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1820.IS S1820 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 1820 IS (5) For human sports, Congress has dem- 1 onstrated its commitment to fair competition 2 through legislation, oversight, funding, and by its 3 execution of an international treaty, the UNESCO 4 International Convention Against Doping in Sport. 5 By ratifying the UNESCO Convention, the United 6 States agreed to adopt appropriate measures con- 7 sistent with the principles of the World Anti-Doping 8 Code and to take appropriate action, including legis- 9 lation, regulation, policies, or administrative prac- 10 tices to implement that commitment. 11 (6) In the context of Olympic sports, Congress 12 has recognized the United States Anti-Doping Agen- 13 cy as an independent anti-doping and medication 14 control organization possessing high-level expertise 15 and credibility in the development and administra- 16 tion of an anti-doping and medication control pro- 17 gram. 18 (7) Congress supports the establishment of an 19 independent anti-doping and medication control or- 20 ganization to ensure the wagering public’s con- 21 fidence in the fairness of horseracing and to 22 strengthen and harmonize anti-doping and medica- 23 tion control rules and sanctions for horseracing in 24 order to ensure fair and transparent horseraces and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:21 Jun 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1820.IS S1820 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 1820 IS to deter the commission of anti-doping and medica- 1 tion control rule violations. 2 (8) The movement of horses among the States 3 for the purpose of participating in covered horse- 4 races, the widespread acceptance, receipt, and trans- 5 mission of wagers on covered horseraces in interstate 6 commerce, and the need to ensure integrity of com- 7 petition in, and wagering on, covered horseraces 8 warrant congressional action as set forth in this Act. 9 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 10 In this Act: 11 (1) AUTHORITY.—The term ‘‘Authority’’ means 12 the independent Horseracing Anti-Doping and Medi- 13 cation Control Authority established by section 5. 14 (2) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 15 means the Federal Trade Commission. 16 (3) COVERED HORSERACE.—The term ‘‘covered 17 horserace’’ means any horserace that has a substan- 18 tial relation to interstate commerce, including any 19 horserace that is the subject of interstate off-track 20 wagers. 21 (4) COVERED HORSE.—The term ‘‘covered 22 horse’’ means any Thoroughbred, Quarter, or Stan- 23 dardbred horse, beginning on the date of the horse’s 24 first timed and reported workout at a race track 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:21 Jun 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1820.IS S1820 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 1820 IS that participates in covered horseraces or a licensed 1 training facility until the Authority receives written 2 notice that the horse has been retired. 3 (5) COVERED PERSONS.—The term ‘‘covered 4 persons’’ means all trainers, owners, veterinarians, 5 persons (legal and natural) licensed by a State rac- 6 ing commission and the agents, assigns and employ- 7 ees of such persons and other horse support per- 8 sonnel who are engaged in the care, training, or rac- 9 ing of covered horses. 10 (6) EQUINE CONSTITUENCIES.—The term 11 ‘‘equine constituencies’’ means, collectively, the own- 12 ers and breeders, trainers, racetracks, veterinarians, 13 State racing commissions, and jockeys. 14 (7) EQUINE INDUSTRY REPRESENTATIVE.—The 15 term ‘‘equine industry representative’’ means an or- 16 ganization regularly and significantly engaged in the 17 equine industry, including organizations that rep- 18 resent the interests of, and whose membership con- 19 sists of, owners and breeders, trainers, racetracks, 20 veterinarians, State racing commissions, and jock- 21 eys. 22 (8) HORSERACING ANTI-DOPING AND MEDICA- 23 TION CONTROL PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘horseracing 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:21 Jun 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1820.IS S1820 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 1820 IS anti-doping and medication control program’’ means 1 the program established under section 6. 2 (9) INTERSTATE OFF-TRACK WAGER.—The 3 term ‘‘interstate off-track wager’’ has the meaning 4 given such term in section 3 of the Interstate Horse- 5 racing Act of 1978 (15 U.S.C. 3002). 6 (10) JOCKEY.—The term ‘‘jockey’’ means a 7 rider or driver of a covered horse in covered horse- 8 races. 9 (11) MEDICATION AND REGULATORY EX- 10 PERTS.—The term ‘‘medication and regulatory ex- 11 perts’’ means organizations or associations that are 12 actively involved in the establishment of equine 13 medication standards, or groups or associations rep- 14 resenting entities responsible for the current regula- 15 tion of the equine industry, or groups or associations 16 representing equine practitioners and veterinarians. 17 (12) OWNERS AND BREEDERS.—The term 18 ‘‘owners and breeders’’ means those persons who ei- 19 ther hold ownership interests in covered horses or 20 who are in the business of breeding covered horses. 21 (13) PROHIBITED METHODS.—The term ‘‘pro- 22 hibited methods’’ means any methods that are on 23 the list of prohibited methods identified in section 24 6(g). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:21 Jun 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1820.IS S1820 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 1820 IS (14) PROHIBITED SUBSTANCES.—The term 1 ‘‘prohibited substances’’ means any substances that 2 are on the list of prohibited substances identified in 3 section 6(g). 4 (15) PERMITTED METHODS.—The term ‘‘per- 5 mitted methods’’ means those methods identified in 6 the list of permitted methods identified in section 7 6(g). 8 (16) PERMITTED SUBSTANCES.—The term 9 ‘‘permitted substances’’ means those substances con- 10 tained in the list of permitted substances identified 11 in section 6(g). 12 (17) RACETRACK.—The term ‘‘racetrack’’ 13 means an organization licensed by a State racing 14 commission to conduct covered horseraces. 15 (18) STATE RACING COMMISSION.—The term 16 ‘‘State racing commission’’ means that entity des- 17 ignated by State statute or, in the absence of stat- 18 ute, by regulation, with jurisdiction to regulate the 19 conduct of horseracing within the State. 20 (19) TRAINERS.—The term ‘‘trainer’’ means an 21 individual engaged in the training of covered horses. 22 (20) VETERINARIAN.—The term ‘‘veterinarian’’ 23 means a licensed veterinarian who provides veteri- 24 nary services to covered horses. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:21 Jun 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1820.IS S1820 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 1820 IS (21) WORKOUT.—The term ‘‘workout’’ means a 1 timed running of a horse over a predetermined dis- 2 tance not associated with a race or, with regard to 3 a horse taking part in harness or pace racing, its 4 first qualifying race. 5 SEC. 4. JURISDICTION FOR HORSERACING ANTI-DOPING 6 AND MEDICATION CONTROL MATTERS. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Effective upon the effective date 8 of the anti-doping and medication control program as set 9 forth in section 11, the Authority shall exercise authority 10 over all horseracing anti-doping and medication control 11 matters consistent with the provisions of this Act. 12 (b) POWERS AND AUTHORITY.— 13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Authority shall be es- 14 tablished as a private, independent, self-regulatory, 15 nonprofit corporation with responsibility for devel- 16 oping and administering an anti-doping and medica- 17 tion control program for covered horses, covered per- 18 sons, and covered horseraces consistent with the pro- 19 visions of this Act. 20 (2) POWERS.—The Authority— 21 (A) shall have the same anti-doping and 22 medication control powers over horseracing li- 23 censees as the State racing commissions have in 24 their respective States with respect to— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:21 Jun 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1820.IS S1820 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •S 1820 IS (i) access to offices, track facilities, 1 and other places of business of licensees; 2 (ii) search and seizure; 3 (iii) issuance and enforcement of sub- 4 poenas and subpoenas duces tecum; and 5 (iv) other investigatory powers; and 6 (B) with respect to an unfair or deceptive 7 act or practice described in section 7, may rec- 8 ommend that the Commission commence an en- 9 forcement action. 10 (3) CONSENT.—As a condition of eligibility to 11 participate in covered horseraces, covered persons 12 agree that they and their covered horses shall be 13 bound by the provisions of the horseracing anti- 14 doping and medication control program established 15 in accordance with section 6. 16 (c) EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION AND OVERSIGHT.— 17 (1) JURISDICTION OF COMMISSION.—The Com- 18 mission shall have exclusive jurisdiction over all 19 horseracing anti-doping and medication control mat- 20 ters consistent with this Act. 21 (2) ACTIVITIES OF AUTHORITY.—The Authority 22 shall engage in activities in accordance with such 23 rules as are approved pursuant to this Act. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:21 Jun 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1820.IS S1820 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •S 1820 IS (d) GUIDING PRINCIPLES.—In carrying out the pro- 1 visions of this Act, the Commission and the Authority 2 shall be guided by the findings and principles contained 3 in section 2. 4 (e) STATE COMPACT.—The jurisdiction and authority 5 granted to the Commission and the Authority under this 6 Act shall terminate if, at any time after the expiration of 7 five years following the effectiveness of the anti-doping 8 and medication control program— 9 (1) an interstate compact is established that in- 10 cludes among its members 75 percent of the States 11 in which starts in covered races occurred during the 12 calendar year preceding the formation of the com- 13 pact and those States which collectively hosted not 14 less than 90 percent of the total racing starts of cov- 15 ered horses in covered races for the two-year period 16 preceding the formation of the compact; and 17 (2)(A) all member States enter into and main- 18 tain an agreement with the Authority for services 19 consistent with the anti-doping and medication con- 20 trol program provided for in section 6 in those 21 States; or 22 (B) the compact is drafted with public input 23 from horseracing industry constituencies (including 24 trainers, owners, the breed registry, veterinarians, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:21 Jun 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1820.IS S1820 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •S 1820 IS regulators, race tracks, testing laboratories, bettors, 1 and jockeys) by persons who conform to the con [Text truncated for display. 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