Racehorse Health and Safety Act of 2025
Sponsored By: Senator Cotton, Tom [R-AR]
Introduced
Summary
Creates a national Racehorse Health and Safety Organization to set science‑based medication controls and racetrack safety standards. It would repeal the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act and authorize an interstate compact so States can adopt uniform rules, testing, laboratory accreditation, and a nationwide racehorse safety and injury database.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
6 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 2 costs, 3 mixed.
Stricter medication rules and penalties
If enacted, this would create three breed-specific scientific medication committees to set drug lists, thresholds, withdrawals, and testing. The RHSO would ban many acts, including nontherapeutic substances, tampering, and refusals to test. The rules would create a rebuttable presumption that trainers are liable and allow heavy sanctions like fines, purse disgorgement, suspensions, disqualifications, and lifetime bans.
Higher fees for racehorse industry
If enacted, the RHSO would charge an initial startup fee to member States and ongoing annual fees to pay for operations. States could pass those fees to owners, trainers, breeders, tracks, and other covered persons through registration, starter, sales, or track fees. Any board-approved fee increase over 5% would need a three-fourths vote.
State enforcement, federal repeal, wagering limits
If enacted, this would repeal the existing federal Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act immediately. States could choose to enforce RHSO rules themselves, or the RHSO would enforce them under an agreement. Only host States that join the compact could allow interstate off-track and advance deposit wagering signals; nonmember host States could not.
Seller disclosure for young horse drugs
If enacted, States that join the compact would have to treat selling a covered horse without disclosing early bisphosphonate use as an unfair or deceptive act. Sellers would need to tell buyers if the horse got bisphosphonates before age four or other RHSO-designated long-term degrading treatments.
New national horseracing oversight board
If enacted, this would create a Racehorse Health and Safety Organization (RHSO) for States that join. The RHSO would have a nine-member board with rules on appointments, conflicts, vacancies, and recusals. RHSO bodies would not be subject to the Federal Advisory Committee Act. The RHSO could take on debt but could not accept loans from covered persons or industry representatives.
Testing labs and national safety data
If enacted, the RHSO would pick an accreditation body to audit testing labs and require certain samples go to specialized labs tied to national labs like NVSL. The RHSO would also build a national database of safety, health, and injury data and could require covered persons to submit information. These steps could raise lab and reporting costs while improving testing quality and safety research.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Cotton, Tom [R-AR]
AR • R
Cosponsors
There are no cosponsors for this bill.
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov