Racetrack operator Churchill Downs, Inc., and thoroughbred racehorse trade association Horsemen’s Benevolent & Protective Association (“HBPA”), have filed federal lawsuits against the Horseracing Integrity & Safety Authority, Inc. (“HISA”), challenging the fees HISA has charged them pursuant to the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act.

Thoroughbred racehorse trainer Todd Pletcher successfully challenged a “bute” overage in a sixth place finisher he trained in a race at Saratoga Racecourse in 2022. The violation would have cost him a $2000 fine, a 14-day suspension, which penalties Pletcher will avoid (for the time being) by winning the lawsuit he filed in New York State court.

A thoroughbred racehorse trainer whose first-place finisher tested positive for the banned substance Metformin, a diabetes drug prohibited by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (“HISA”) for use in racehorses, lost his appeal of the penalties imposed upon him for the violation.

The Ohio State Racing Commission’s order penalizing a horse trainer for a positive D-methamphetamine test was invalid because the Commission failed to establish that it had promulgated a rule or issued an order classifying D-methamphetamine as a prohibited foreign substance, despite relying on ARCI guidelines that were never formally adopted.