Louisiana Moves Toward Doing Away With Void-Claim Rules

The Louisiana Racing Commission is moving toward doing away with most of the state's rules that would void claims of racehorses for reasons including postrace lameness, injury, and even death. The Louisiana Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association suggested the changes. The racing commission voted unanimously at its April 29 meeting to advance the proposed revisions, which were published June 20 in the Louisiana Register (pages 867-868) and now enter a public comment period. People who wish to speak about the proposal at an upcoming Louisiana Racing Commission meeting must inform the commission by July 10 in order to be placed on the agenda. The same deadline applies to submit written comments to the state government, which should be addressed to Brett Bonin, Louisiana assistant attorney general, 320 N. Carrollton Ave., Suite 2-B, New Orleans, La, 70119-5100. The legislative process to get to a final vote will take about six months, likely meaning that won't occur until the commission's February 2026 meeting, according to the racing commission's executive director Stephen Landry. Void-claim rules are designed to protect the person claiming a horse as well as the horse. A recent study determined such rules have improved equine safety. The sections of the rule to be removed fall into three categories: automatic voided claims, discretionary voided claims, and optional drug and disease testing. Currently a claim is voided automatically in Louisiana if the horse being claimed dies on the racetrack or suffers an injury which requires euthanasia while the horse is on the racetrack, as determined by the official veterinarian. The current discretionary void-claim rules say a claim may be voided—at the new owner's discretion within one hour of the race—if a horse is vanned off, is observed to be lame or unsound on the racetrack, or is observed to have bled through its nostrils while on the track, with all those observations needing to be made by the official veterinarian. The current rule also allows the person claiming the horse to request it be tested for equine infectious anemia or performance-enhancing erythropoietin or darbepoietin. If EIA test returns positive, the horse is barred from racing in the state of Louisiana; if the EPO/darbepoietin test is positive, the horse is barred from racing until it tests negative. All of the above provisions would be stricken from the law under the proposed changes. Landry declined to comment on the proposal, but as part of the legislative process he was required to file an estimated impact statement with the state government. Landry listed increased financial risk for people claiming horses and a potential decrease in buyer confidence that could lead to "fewer claims and, ultimately, a decline in competitive racing," as possible results of the changes. The only condition that would be left intact in Louisiana's void-claim rule is that the horse would still need to be declared a starter. Landry said that in order for a horse to enter the starting gate in Louisiana it still faces a morning vet inspection plus observation in the paddock and on track from the official veterinarian. Landry said the racing commission did not have any data on how many claims have been voided. Ed Fenasci, executive director of the Louisiana HBPA, did not return calls seeking comment on the proposal.