U.S. SUPREME COURT VACATES DECISION REJECTING COSTITUTIONAL CHALLENGE TO HISA
The U.S. Supreme Court announced today that it has granted certiorari in the challenge brought by the United States Trotting Association (USTA), the States of Oklahoma, West Virginia, and Louisiana, and a group of racetracks, racing associations, and breeders against the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA), and has vacated the decision and remanded the case for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit to reconsider its decision upholding HISA ...
COLUMBUS, OH -- June 30, 2025 -- The U.S. Supreme Court announced today that it has granted certiorari in the challenge brought by the United States Trotting Association (USTA), the States of Oklahoma, West Virginia, and Louisiana, and a group of racetracks, racing associations, and breeders against the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA), and has vacated the decision and remanded the case for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit to reconsider its decision upholding HISA.
This case challenges the constitutionality of HISA under the private nondelegation doctrine. If the Sixth Circuit on remand rules in USTA’s favor, it would free the horseracing industry from the regulatory control of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, an unaccountable private corporation that the federal government illegally vested with power to develop and enforce a federal horseracing regulatory program.
The USTA is enthusiastic about the Court’s encouraging decision to grant certiorari, vacate the decision, and remand the case for the Sixth Circuit to reconsider its decision upholding HISA. The case highlights many of the issues facing the horseracing industry — lack of transparency, out-of-touch bureaucratic oversight, and enforcement of rules unsupported by any recognized scientific basis. The integrity of the sport and the veterinary science developed to protect equines have long been neglected by HISA, and the USTA is hopeful that the arguments before the Sixth Circuit will pave the way for a better future in horse racing through the Racehorse Health and Safety Act (RHSA).
“As the USTA has been saying for years: you can’t give lawmaking and police powers to a private corporation like the HISA Authority,” said USTA President Russell Williams. “This private corporation is out of control and unaccountable, and if we don’t stop it now, it’s coming for Standardbreds.”
Counsel for USTA, Lochlan Shelfer of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher added, “We are gratified that the Court has asked the Sixth Circuit to reconsider the constitutionality of this highly unusual statute that allows a private body, with virtually no government supervision, to exercise broad regulatory and enforcement authority over an entire industry. Congress’s decision to delegate regulatory authority over the horseracing industry to a politically unaccountable private corporation raises serious issues under the Constitution’s private nondelegation doctrine.”
Vice-President of North American Association of Racetrack Veterinarians (NAARV) and USTA Director Dr. Andy Roberts said, “There is an incredible lack of both science and transparency in current racehorse medication control and enforcement. As a racetrack veterinarian, my goal is always to be a voice for my horses, to protect them at all costs. My voice, as well as many of my colleagues’ voices, have been consistently ignored or even muffled by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority. Their ignorance of science and uniform medicine control has driven talented and careful veterinarians out of practice, endangering the horses. I am hopeful that the courts will give those within the industry the opportunity to dictate care processes once again.”
Recently introduced in the 119th Congress by Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) and Representatives Clay Higgins (R-LA) and Don Davis (D-NC), the RHSA seeks to restore science-based rules and transparency back into regulation of the sport through an interstate compact. This would ensure the constitutionality, and therefore, stability, of the RHSA so that it may serve as an effective, long-term regulatory regime for the racehorse community. Importantly, this new legislation prioritizes science-backed uniform medication control and racetrack standards. Standards would be specific to each breed of racehorse, including Standardbreds. The RHSA would make use of the decades of experience of state-appointed race commissions to bring the goals of USTA and other industry leaders to fruition.
President Williams concluded, “The Supreme Court has signaled that the courts need to take a close look at the legality of HISA and open the door to a new day in horseracing regulation, returning the power to the people through their elected representatives and state racing commissions to carry out common sense reforms through the RHSA.”
The USTA is a 19,000-member non-profit association of Standardbred horse owners, breeders, drivers, trainers, and officials headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. It was founded in 1939 and promulgates the rules of harness racing, licenses persons involved in harness racing, and insists upon the humane treatment and wellbeing of Standardbred horses.
Before state racing commissions began to regulate harness racing in the 1960s, the USTA was the sole regulatory body for harness racing. Standardbred horses, drivers, and trainers must be registered with the USTA to be eligible to race in North America.