Lone Star Park, like some other tracks across the country on July 4, will ignite fireworks before thousands of fans in a celebration of Independence Day, coming on the closing day of the track's Thoroughbred season.
But amid continued opposition of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority by the Texas Racing Commission and other entities in Texas, the state's Thoroughbred industry has taken on a less celebratory mood over the past year. Texas tracks running Thoroughbred meets have been unable to send their domestic simulcast signal out of state over the length of the dispute, which began last July when HISA began its initial responsibilities for enforcing uniform safety and integrity rules in United States Thoroughbred racing.
Since then, the overall handle has plunged at Lone Star Park and Sam Houston Race Park, the state's other track that hosts Thoroughbred racing.
On July 2, Lone Star Park handled $458,656, of which $323,038 was bet on track from 3,452 people in attendance, according to Equibase statistics. The total handle is roughly a quarter of what was bet on comparable Sundays in June 2022 before the domestic simulcast blockade began.
Such a massive decline in handle "triggers a cascade of developments that are detrimental to Texas racing," said orthopedic surgeon Dr. Robert Schmidt, former chair of the TRC, who has been critical of the lack of political compromise from Texas parties to come to terms with HISA.
One of those developments has been a reduction in purses, which are funded in part by gambling dollars. Purses have declined 15-20%, and race dates scaled back. The state's Thoroughbred purses this year are approximately $3 million lower than in 2022, according to Texas Thoroughbred Association board member and former Lone Star Park president Corey Johnsen.
Were it not for continued on-track and intertrack wagering support from Texas horseplayers and purse supplements in the state generated from a sales tax on feed, tack, and horse products, purses would be down even sharper.
"The fact that we don't know what Texas is going to do with regards to HISA is not a positive when it comes to people making business decisions in regards to making major investments in Texas Thoroughbred racing and breeding," said Jeff Hooper, chairman and CEO of Highlander Training Center in Sulphur Springs, Texas.
Per TRC executive director Amy Cook, only the TRC is authorized under Texas law to regulate horse racing in the state—though HISA officials have said the state's law is similar to other states that have ceded authority to HISA.
Without such an "opt-in," HISA must assert its jurisdiction based on the Interstate Horseracing Act of 1978, the basis for interstate simulcast export.
Matt Vance, executive vice president of racing for Lone Star Park, did not return a telephone call and text message seeking comment on the track's business at the current meet. Lone Star Park's owner, Global Gaming, is one of the businesses that have sued HISA in court.
Another gaming company, Penn National Gaming, owns Sam Houston Race Park.
Both companies would stand to reap profits from gaming growth in Texas, either from casinos or sports wagering, neither of which passed this year. The Texas legislature does not meet for another two years.
Schmidt believes an alteration to Texas racing law to align with HISA was a missed opportunity during the latest session, noting how the legislation that authorized HISA was amended in the U.S. Congress this winter to give the Federal Trade Commission more authority over HISA when the clarifying language was attached to a massive appropriations bill. The move became necessary after a judge initially ruled the enabling legislation was facially unconstitutional, with HISA, a private organization, not deemed subordinate to the Federal Trade Commission, which is to provide oversight.
"The Texas legislative session just ended and there was no interest from legislators in Texas to conform Texas law to allow for HISA jurisdiction," Cook wrote in an email to BloodHorse. "Therefore, the statutory conflict between Texas law and the HISA statute continues to be a key concern for our state."
Additional wagering that would benefit the racing industry, such as off-track betting and advance deposit wagering, has never materialized in Texas, a politically conservative state.
Many of the state's elected politicians, including Gov. Greg Abbott, oppose federal oversight and programs. His website notes, "From the EPA to ObamaCare, Greg Abbott has challenged every attempt by the federal government to erode our states' rights."
Seven of the nine members of the TRC are appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the state Senate. The other two are ex officio members, the commissioner of agriculture, and the chairman of the Public Safety Commission.
Whether Thoroughbred racing participants view HISA as beneficial by bringing uniform rules to the sport or detrimental in overstepping states' authority and creating bureaucratic red tape and additional costs, the absence of simulcasting in Texas is a financial hit.
Quarter Horse racing, not overseen by HISA, is not affected by the impasse—meaning only full Thoroughbred meets such as the one at Lone Star, or the January-March season run each year at Sam Houston Race Park, are impacted.
Texas is not alone as a state opposed to HISA. Fonner Park in Nebraska announced in February it would not simulcast, citing "the many uncertainties associated with HISA in Nebraska and the nation." And Louisiana and West Virginia were successful in getting an injunction to allow interstate simulcasting outside of HISA's jurisdiction.
So for the second half of 2023, when Quarter Horse racing and mixed-breed meets take center stage in Texas, the conflict goes on the back burner—or at least until the ongoing court battle heats back up in the fall.
In early October, oral arguments are scheduled in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals after a federal judge this spring denied efforts by the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association, as well as state and local HBPA affiliates, to derail the legislation. If the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ultimately rules HISA to be constitutional, that decision would put it in line with the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals decision, leaving opponents of the legislation with few legal options left to contest HISA.
An unconstitutional ruling, however, would put it in conflict with the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling, which could put the dispute on track to be considered by the U.S. Supreme Court.
No transcripts of 2023 TRC meetings have been published on the commission website through July 2, but in December, TRC chairman Robert Pate, an attorney and a senior district judge, echoed views long expressed by Cook over the past year.
"Obviously, this commission would enjoy again allowing its tracks to (offer the) interstate simulcast signal of Thoroughbred horse racing, but it must be consistent with legalities resulting from the (2022) Fifth Circuit decision," he said. "Certain procedural hurdles must be met before the commission can approve the export of (the) signal for Thoroughbred races. ... But please rest assured on the very day that this commission can lift the Thoroughbred race export signal ban, it will."
Disheartened by the state of the industry in Texas, Schmitt, a past racehorse owner, and breeder who said he remains a fan and supporter of the sport, wrote a June 20 letter to the editor at the Thoroughbred Daily News, making his case for backing HISA.
"The letter was to spur political compromise—the TRC can still regulate the industry in Texas but the health and safety aspects, perhaps they can contract with HISA and work under the auspices of the FTC," he said. "I think there is a solution. ... We have good legal minds. The states' rights issue doesn't protect our horses now."
