SARATOGA SPRINGS , NEW YORK , USA, August 10, 2019 /EINPresswire.com/ -- On the eve of The Jockey Club’s 67th Annual Round Table to be held August 11th, at the Gideon Putnam Hotel, Animal Wellness Action applauded the sixteen top Thoroughbred trainers who voiced their support for the Horseracing Integrity Act on Friday, August 9 in an open letter to the industry. The list of supporters included Graham Motion, Todd Pletcher and Hall of Famers Shug McGaughey and Nick Zito.

The Horseracing Integrity Act, H.R. 1754/S. 1820, led by U.S. Representatives Paul Tonko (D-NY), and Andy Barr (R-KY) in the U.S. House, and U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), and Martha McSally (R-AZ) in the U.S. Senate, would create a private, independent horse racing anti-doping authority responsible for developing and administering a nationwide anti-doping and medication control program for horse racing. The authority would be governed by a board composed of six individuals who have demonstrated expertise in a variety of horse-racing areas, six individuals from the United States Anti-Doping Agency, and its chief executive officer. USADA is recognized by Congress as the official anti-doping agency for the U.S. Olympic, Pan American, and Paralympic sports.

“We applaud the trainers who’ve stepped up and spoken out publicly for medication reform and support of the Horseracing Integrity Act,” said Marty Irby, executive director at Animal Wellness Action, in Saratoga Springs attending The Jockey Club’s Round Table. “The unending stream of bad publicity, ugly incidents, and stubborn refusal by some within industry – like Churchill Downs and The Kentucky Derby – to accept legitimate reforms is pushing more and more animal advocates to oppose the sport.”

“We are ready for change and will embrace it for the greater good,” wrote the sixteen trainers. “Once again, we urge our colleagues to join us in supporting this vital work. None of us takes this stance lightly, but we believe we are at a precipitous moment at which the industry must act to revive public trust in our sport and to protect our most cherished possession, our racehorses,” continued the trainers’ letter.

“Desperate times call for desperate measures, and I think we are really in need of some kind of a governing body in our industry,” said Graham Motion, who won The Kentucky Derby in 2011 with Animal Kingdom, reported the Louisville Courier-Journal. "... If anyone thinks it’s not (a crisis), they’re burying their heads in the sand.”

“If there is no legislative remedy, we'll see more mainstream groups take up the issue and more grassroots groups emerge to take on the problem, continued Irby. “Then the debate will shift away from doping in horse racing to horse racing itself.”

The Coalition for Horse Racing Integrity (CHRI) supports the bill, and is comprised of numerous industry and animal protection groups such as The New York Racing Association (NYRA), Jockey Club, Keeneland, The Breeders’ Cup, The Stronach Group, the Water Hay Oats Alliance, Animal Wellness Action, the Animal Welfare Institute, and others.

Animal Wellness Action (Action) is a Washington, D.C.-based 501(c)(4) organization with a mission of helping animals by promoting legal standards forbidding cruelty. We champion causes that alleviate the suffering of companion animals, farm animals, and wildlife. We advocate for policies to stop dogfighting and cockfighting and other forms of malicious cruelty and to confront factory farming and other systemic forms of animal exploitation. To prevent cruelty, we promote enacting good public policies and we work to enforce those policies. To enact good laws, we must elect good lawmakers, and that’s why we remind voters which candidates care about our issues and which ones don’t. We believe helping animals helps us all.

Marty Irby
ANIMAL WELLNESS ACTION
+1 202-821-5686
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