The Louisiana Senate Commerce Committee has struck down the state racing commission's adoption of the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium Model Rules, according to the Louisiana Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association.
According to a release from the horsemen's group, LHBPA president Sean Alfortish, along with HBPA general counsel Jim Gelpi, argued before the committee that the state racing commission had abused the "emergency procedure" provision, contending that the regulatory authority had done so previously over the past five years.
"It was not that we were categorically opposed to all the Model Rules," Alfortish said in the release. "Some of the rules which were adopted by the commission had no basis in science or fact. These rules also posed an undue hardship on the horsemen by requiring them to be on track with ship-ins five hours in advance and where necessary stall space was not available to accommodate the horses. In general, the rules were not ready to be implemented on an emergency basis because no emergency existed...The Senate commerce committee did the right thing by striking down the rule."
The rule was adopted by the LSRC in December 2007 and became effective Feb. 1. As a result of the unanimous finding by the Senate committee, the adopted rules are immediately revoked.