Safety in the sport of horse racing may change soon. New standards included in the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act are currently being reviewed by the Senate and if the bill is passed, it would be put into practice at the beginning of 2022.
As it stands now, individual tracks are allowed to have their own rules regarding doping and medication. According to USA Today, the new rules that would be imposed across the sport include:
- Eliminating performance-enhancing drugs
- Restricting the use of an anti-bleeding medication
- Placing limits on the use of a bronchodilator that enhances muscle development
- Restrictions on how frequently a jockey can whip a horse during the course of a race
"It will be a game changer, I think, for the industry when it comes time to protect the health and safety of the horses and the integrity and fairness of the competition," USADA CEO Travis T. Tygart said, according to the Associated Press. "It is going to be clearing out the bushel to get to, 'All right, let's clean this thing up and restore this sport to what it once was.'
Horse racing doesn't have a national governing body, which is why the rules at many racetracks around the country vary. If the "Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act" is passed by the Senate and signed into law, anti-doping incidents would likely be prevented since there would be regulations in place.
Arguably the biggest changes within this bill will be the use of the whip. New Jersey has already banned whipping a horse during a race under any circumstances other than safety. California reduced the number of whips to six times over the course of a race. In addition, Kentucky limited it to two times. If passed, the bill would regulate the amount of whips allowed in every state.
