By Rory Carroll
(Reuters) – A federal judge on Tuesday granted Louisiana and West Virginia’s request to halt implementation of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) in those states until a wider lawsuit challenging its constitutionality is decided.
U.S. District Court Judge Terry Doughty granted the states a preliminary injunction, saying that the threatened harm to plaintiffs outweighed that of the defendants and that the decision “will not undermine the public interest.”
The defendants include the HISA Authority, which is charged with setting up the nationwide structure under which race horses will be registered and drug tested under the law, replacing the previous, state-by-state regulatory system.
“This Court is only ruling on the adoption of the rules by HISA, not the constitutionality of the Act,” he wrote.
Animal rights activists blasted the ruling.
“It’s a shame to see the federal court side with rogue state operators and officials who continue to help keep doping and animal abuse alive in American horse racing while the bodies of dead horses pile up in Louisiana and West Virginia,” said Marty Irby, the executive director of Animal Wellness Action.
“If these states insist on operating under the status quo then we will make sure to further highlight every doping incident, death, and scandal in their domains.
“The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act is the sport’s last chance at survival.”
The Louisiana and West Virginia State Racing Commissions did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
HISA passed in late 2020 and puts anti-doping/medication control and safety programs under the umbrella of the independent, non-governmental HISA as opposed to individual state racing commissions.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by Toby Davis)
