Letter from National HBPA CEO Eric Hamelback: We Did Not Need to Be Here

Looking around the industry today, I’ll repeat what I said on Steve Byk’s At the Races radio show: We did not need to be here.

Much of what the industry is experiencing right now is totally unnecessary. I’ll say it again: The proponents of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act should have simply engaged with the industry in good faith at the point the legislation was implemented to adopt the model rules from the Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI). Instead, Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) staff now point to the act and say something to the elect of, “Well, Congress said we must follow the international rules and the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities.”

The ARCI was referenced in the act until the 11th hour. That’s right—the ARCI was removed from the act, which was finally passed due to the efforts of Senator Mitch McConnell, who without proper legislative procedure inserted the act into a must-pass omnibus bill. Yet, in public, HISA and Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) staff say they can work in the best interest of U.S. racing and then pat themselves on the back when they boast of implementing a shorter withdrawal time on Bute than is recognized internationally. Let’s all clap our hands and say thank you—for doing what is right.

The ARCI model rules have been developed over decades by state racing boards, horsemen and the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium all working together. But, no, that is not the avenue taken by HISA. They continue to proclaim publicly, “We started with a blank sheet,” as if none of the hard work and rules under the ARCI even existed. Fact: The issues now causing industry chaos would most likely be nil or completely diminished if the rules under HISA began by adopting the ARCI model rules uniformly from coast to coast. But where are we now instead? Regulations taking the place of horsemanship.

I am going to reiterate this. One. More. Time: We are dangerously close to regulating horsemanship out of this industry, and we must understand and communicate that safety risks will never be eliminated by adding more layers of regulations. If we continue down this path of regulating horsemanship out of horse racing, we will find ourselves in even deeper trouble as an industry.

Solutions to our problems and concerns are out there and, in many instances, have always been there. Adding more regulations is not the answer; it is actually causing more issues. I’ll repeat: Participants in the industry complained about not having uniformity, but you never heard substantial complaints about the regulations under the ARCI. Again, we did not need to be here in this state of chaos and confusion.

There is no question that everyone in horse racing wants cheaters gone and punished for their actions. Nevertheless, it’s apparent that a few in the industry are making the regulations and dictating terms to the rest of us. Who would actually want to shrink the industry? I believe if we remain on this path, that is exactly the industry’s fate.

As I see it now, HISA’s governance and rule-making and disciplinary practices are teetering on destroying the industry as we know it. Absent the legal challenges now within our judicial system changing the course for HISA, only HISA itself can heal the damage it has unnecessarily caused and right the path to necessary reform before it’s too late for the vast majority of us.

Sincerely,
Eric J. Hamelback
CEO, National HBPA