HEARING OUTLINES ABUSES IN HORSE RACING INDUSTRY/EXPERTS CITE LACK OF UNIFORM STANDARDS AND TRANSPARENCY

Washington, Jun 19, 2008 - “This is a wake up call for you, there’s abuse in your industry,” stated Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Ocala) today at a hearing entitled Breeding, Drugs, and Breakdowns: the State of Thoroughbred Horseracing and the Welfare of Thoroughbred Race Horses. The hearing was held before the Commerce, Trade & Consumer Protection Subcommittee.

Stearns, Co-Chair of the Congressional Horse Caucus, pointed out during the hearing that Congress has jurisdiction to take action protecting the welfare of horses and to establish national standards under the Interstate Horse Racing Act of 1978. Stearns’ district includes over 1,000 horse farms and is a significant part of the national horse industry.

Added Stearns, “There is no national database on general and fatal breakdowns of these horses, the use of drugs, or training violations involving drugs. In addition, since regulations are at the state level, there is no uniformity.”

ESPN Analyst Randy Moss told the panel, “The way I see it, the single biggest dilemma facing the sport is the haphazard and dysfunctional manner in which racing is scheduled and administrated. Thoroughbred racing is cannibalizing itself. Arthur Hancock, an owner and breeder, testified, “As I see it, the real problem with the Thoroughbred industry is that nobody is in charge.”

During the question session of the hearing, Jess Jackson, a horse owner and breeder, noted that due to inbreeding among horses in the United States, he buys his horses from Argentina and Germany. Jackson further stated, “The absence of a legitimate national governing body with federally sanctioned authority to make and enforce consistent rules, regulations, and standards is desperately needed.”

“Our goals must be preserving the integrity of this great sport, the sport of kings,” concluded Stearns. “As Mr. Moss noted, there are ‘38 racing states with 38 sets of rules and 38 different priorities.’ He further noted that ‘thoroughbred racing desperately needs a strong central authority with regulatory powers to make binding decisions necessary for the short- and long-term best interests of the sport.’ Clearly, we need one central authority instead of 38 separate fiefdoms. It is my hope that the industry will take immediate steps to ban the use of performance-enhancing drugs, adopt uniform standards, and develop a national database or the federal government may be forced to step in through legislation.”