S. 1770 — Racehorse Health and Safety Act of 2025

This section establishes the Racehorse Health and Safety Organization (RHSO) for states that are members of the interstate compact, requiring such states to participate in the RHSO to coordinate state racing commission decision-making and actions and to develop its bylaws and rules, including designation of the RHSO as an agency under the Administrative Procedure Act (subchapter II of chapter 5 of title 5, U.S. Code). The RHSO is governed by a nine-member board of directors, with five members appointed by the racing commissions of the five member states with the most racing days over the preceding three-year period (one per state) and four members appointed by the racing commissions of the other member states; board members serve terms not exceeding three years (with initial terms of four years for those from the top five states to stagger appointments), are limited to three full terms, must disclose and recuse from conflicts of interest, may be removed by majority vote for cause, and require a majority quorum. The board's duties include (1) adopting, modifying, or rejecting rules on scientific medication control (recommended under section 202) and racetrack safety (recommended under section 303) by a two-thirds vote if based on peer-reviewed scientific data; (2) adopting rules on violations (under sections 401-403); (3) holding open meetings on proposed rules with 45 days' advance public posting and notice to state racing commissions; (4) determining rule effective dates; and (5) developing and maintaining, after notice and comment, a nationwide database of racehorse safety, performance, health, and injury information.

This section authorizes a state racing commission to elect to enforce rules issued under section 101(c)(1) and (2) within the state or, if no election is made, requires the RHSO to enforce those rules via a memorandum of understanding with the commission. The section provides that RHSO rules preempt conflicting state laws or regulations of member states on matters within RHSO jurisdiction. It further requires each member state of the interstate compact to treat as an unfair or deceptive act or practice the sale of a covered horse—or any horse intended for a covered race—without disclosing known prior administration to the horse of (1) a bisphosphonate before its fourth birthday or (2) any other substance or method determined by the RHSO to have a long-term degrading effect on the horse's soundness.

This section requires the Racing Horse Safety Organization (RHSO) to establish a scientific medication control committee for each of three horse breeds—Standardbred, Quarter Horse, and Thoroughbred—to develop, update, and recommend proposed rules on medication control for covered horses, persons, and horseraces. Each committee comprises 7 members: (1) 3 regulatory members appointed by the RHSO Board based on expertise in equine exercise physiology, forensic toxicology, or equine pharmacology; and (2) 4 industry members appointed by specified organizations (United States Trotting Association for Standardbred, American Quarter Horse Association for Quarter Horse, and National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association for Thoroughbred), who must hold a PhD or equivalent, have recent experience in medication control or toxicology research, and include at least one mathematician or statistician experienced in threshold determination, one equine exercise physiologist, one equine pharmacologist, and one analytical chemist. Members serve terms not exceeding 3 years (initially 4 years for regulatory members), with indefinite renewals permitted but limited to service on no more than 2 committees; chairpersons are elected annually by majority vote; members must declare conflicts of interest; and a majority quorum is required for proposing rules to the Board. Committee meetings may be closed except that, not later than 90 days before considering a rule (or modification), each must hold an open meeting for input from covered persons or representatives, with 45 days' notice posted on the RHSO website, submitted to specified groups, and provided on request; all input must be recorded. Each committee must review all existing state racing commission medication and threshold rules, available research, and penalty recommendations (with authority to revise penalties); and conduct ongoing reviews of new medications to determine if they should be regulated, submitting proposals to the Board for approval.

This section establishes scientific medication control rules for each breed of covered horse (i.e., Thoroughbred, Quarter Horse, and Standardbred), applicable to covered horseraces, covered persons, and covered horses in member states and to covered horses or persons from non-member states entering such races in member states. The section directs each breed's scientific medication control committee, in developing proposed rules, to use scientific methods; address all required elements; and account for the breed's unique characteristics, racing model, and annual races. Until rules issued by the Horseracing Safety and Welfare Organization (RHSO) under section 101(c) become effective, applicable state rules govern medication administration for covered horses in that state's covered horseraces. The required rule elements include (1) restrictions limiting covered horses to competition only if free from performance-enhancing medications, foreign substances, or methods; free from diseases or conditions; determined sound by a veterinarian; and prohibiting pain-masking treatments, with uniformity of rules within each breed (breed-specific thresholds, withdrawal guidelines, and concerns, not imposed across all three breeds unless adopted); and (2) development, with state racing commissions and the National Veterinary Services Laboratories, of permitted/prohibited medications, methods, and substances lists; a review process for medications administered within 24 hours before a horse's next race start; and protocols for test distribution planning (including intelligence-based testing), sample collection, and in-competition/out-of-competition testing (including no-advance-notice testing).

This section establishes a Racetrack Safety Committee under the Racetrack Horseracing Safety Organization (RHSO) to develop, update, and implement mandatory racetrack safety rules for covered horses, covered persons, and covered horseraces. The committee must (1) draft proposed breed-specific rules, (2) recommend them to the RHSO Board after obtaining testimony from racetrack superintendents for each affected breed, and (3) hold an open meeting for input from covered persons at least 90 days before Board consideration of any proposed rule (with 45 days' notice posted online, submitted to specified medication organizations, and provided upon request; all input recorded). The committee comprises 7 members: 3 equine industry representatives selected by the Board for racetrack safety expertise and 4 appointed by designated organizations (United States Trotting Association, American Quarter Horse Association, National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, and Association of Racing Commissioners International for a racetrack superintendent). Members serve terms of up to 3 years (initially 4 years for Board-selected members), renewable indefinitely; the chairperson is elected annually by majority vote; conflicts must be disclosed with recusals required for direct financial interests not applying to all covered horses of a breed; the Board may remove members for cause by majority vote; and a majority quorum is required.

This section establishes the applicability of racetrack safety rules under section 101(c)(2) to covered horses, covered persons, and covered horseraces; directs the Committee, in developing proposed rules, to consult with state racing commissions and consider existing standards such as the National Thoroughbred Racing Association Safety and Integrity Alliance Code of Standards and the Association of Racing Commissioners International Model Rules; and requires the rules to include the following elements: (1) training and racing safety standards and protocols accounting for regional differences, uniform within each breed of covered horses, consistent with humane treatment, and potentially listing permitted and prohibited practices, methods, and track surfaces; (2) track safety standards and protocols uniform within each breed, potentially governing human and equine injury reporting and prevention and oversight and movement of covered horses; (3) racetrack accreditation standards by the Racetrack Safety and Oversight Board (RHSO), processes for achieving and maintaining accreditation, and penalties for noncompliance; (4) a process for up to one year of provisional or interim accreditation for certain pre-existing accredited racetracks; (5) a racing surface quality maintenance system accounting for regional and facility differences, potentially including track surface design, consistency, monitoring, and maintenance procedures; (6) a process for injury and fatality analysis potentially including pre- and post-training/race inspections, standardized veterinarian’s and steward’s lists, and concussion protocols for jockeys, exercise riders, and drivers; (7) requirements for safety and performance research; and (8) rules for educational programs.

This section prohibits the following acts in enforcing rules issued under section 101(c): (1) administration, presence in samples, use or attempted use, possession or attempted possession, trafficking or attempted trafficking, and manufacturing, producing, or formulating certain nontherapeutic medications and substances with respect to a covered horse; (2) administration, presence in samples exceeding the irrelevant concentration, or use or attempted use of certain therapeutic medications and substances during prohibited timeframes before or after a covered horserace; (3) refusal or failure without compelling justification to submit a covered horse for sample collection, to cooperate in investigations by the Racetrack Horse Safety Organization (RHSO), a state racing commission, or their agents, to respond truthfully to relevant questions, or—for racetracks—to comply with track safety standards; (4) tampering or attempted tampering with RHSO rules or processes, including intentional interference, providing fraudulent information, or intimidating potential witnesses; (5) assisting, encouraging, aiding, abetting, conspiring, covering up, or other intentional complicity in violations of such rules or in suspensions or ineligibility periods; and (6) threatening or seeking to intimidate persons to discourage good faith reporting of alleged violations or noncompliance to the RHSO, a state racing commission, or their agents.

This section directs the Board to issue rules governing the disciplinary process for safety, performance, and scientific medication control rule violations, which may incorporate the existing Model Rules of the Association of Racing Commissioners International. The rules must include (1) investigations at racetrack and nonracetrack facilities, with assistance from the Racing Horse Safety Organization (RHSO) and state racing commissions; (2) procedures for investigating, charging, adjudicating violations, and enforcing administrative sanctions; (3) a schedule of administrative sanctions; (4) disciplinary hearings, which may include binding arbitration, mediation, administrative sanctions, or research; (5) management of violation results; (6) referral for criminal law enforcement investigations; (7) notification provisions; (8) a process for removing a noncompliant member state from the interstate compact by unanimous vote of remaining member states; (9) hearing procedures; (10) standards for burden of proof; (11) presumptions, including a rebuttable presumption of liability for trainers violating scientific medication control rules; (12) evidentiary rules; (13) appeals; and (14) guidelines for confidentiality and public reporting of decisions. The rules must also provide due process, including (1) impartial hearing officers or tribunals based on violation severity; (2) rights to counsel, confront witnesses, and a transcribed record; and (3) a decision within 60 days after hearing closure.

This section directs the Board to review existing Model Rules of the Association of Racing Commissioners International applicable to a specific breed that impose administrative sanctions on covered persons or covered horses for safety, performance, and medication control rule violations and, subject to specified requirements, to issue and update comparable rules. The rules must (1) account for unique aspects of horseracing, (2) ensure fair and transparent horseraces, and (3) deter violations; permitted sanctions include lifetime bans from horseracing, disgorgement of purses, monetary fines and penalties, changes to the order of finish in covered races, and—for scientific medication control rule violators—an opportunity to reduce sanctions comparable to that in the existing Model Rules.

This section establishes effective dates for the Act's provisions as follows: (1) except as otherwise provided, on the later of two years after enactment or the date on which two or more states enter the interstate compact under section 4; (2) for subsections (c), (d), and (e) of section 101 and titles II, III, and IV, 90 days after the date specified in (1); and (3) immediately upon enactment, for sections 1, 2, and 3 and subsections (a) and (b) of section 4.