This year, horse owners at almost all horse racing tracks across the country will have to follow new rules authorized under the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act, legislation signed into law nearly three years ago.

The law includes the Racetrack Safety program the Anti-Doping and Medication Control program. The Anti-Doping and Medication Control program went into effect on Monday after receiving approval from the Federal Trade Commission.

What You Need To Know

  • This year, horse owners at almost all racetracks across the country will have to follow new rules authorized under the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act, legislation signed into law nearly three years ago

  • The CEO of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, an industry organization that oversees the safety of horses called these changes are "transformational"
  • There are still a handful of states where the new regulations have not been enacted, partly because of legal challenges

"It's really a difference maker, and I believe that once we're up and running for a number of months, that anyone who was sort of a doubter is going to start to realize this is exactly, kind of, what we needed to do together as an industry," said Lisa Lazarus the CEO of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA).

The prohibited substances list is divided into two categories: Banned substances never permitted in a horse; and controlled medications that are allowed, but not immediately before races. Penalties will depend on the category of the infraction.

"If you make a mistake on withdrawal time, there's a little bit of a substance left in the horse's system, that's very different than using an anabolic steroid or an EPO (a hormone booster), and they should be treated differently," said Lazarus.

The program seeks to streamline penalties and testing protocols across the horse racing industry. The authority is modernizing testing procedures, and standardized kits will now be used for collecting samples from the horses for testing.

"In addition to that, we now have requirements that the samples have to get shipped out either the day they’re collected or the next day," said Lazarus. "It used to be that some jurisdictions would hold on to them for five days, a week, in refrigerators, before they actually ship into the lab, to save money."

For all states operating under the authority's jurisdiction, the processing of the tests will be streamlined as well. Post-race testing results must be available after no more than 10 business days.

Last year, a federal appeals court ruled the authority unconstitutional, saying Congress gave it too much power to oversee the industry. Congress worked to fix that by tweaking the original legislation.

Kentucky is under the authority’s jurisdiction, and the first set of changes, the Racetrack Safety Program, that established uniform operational safety rules and racetrack accreditation standards was implemented in July of 2022.

Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., were both original co-sponsors of the legislation to create the uniform standards.

“This is the last step in a process that will ensure the safety of our equine athletes, the riders, and the integrity of the sport. I commend Lisa Lazarus and the Authority for working towards the uniformity and safety components needed that will move the sport forward,” Barr said in a statement.

There are still a handful of states where the new regulations have not been enacted, partly because of legal challenges.