THA open letter recognizes “serious concerns” with HISA
Cost, Lasix ban among horsemen’s issues
The Biz
February 11, 2026
In an open letter to the Thoroughbred racing industry, the Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Associations (THA) reaffirmed their commitment to equine safety and racing integrity while outlining ongoing efforts to reform the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) framework.
The letter strikes a measured tone, emphasizing that horsemen support “reasonable, science-based regulation” but continue to harbor serious concerns about HISA’s structure, cost, and day-to-day impact on trainers, veterinarians, and racetrack operators. Rather than challenge the law’s existence, which the THA noted will ultimately be decided by federal courts, the organization said it has chosen to engage with HISA leadership to pursue practical reforms.
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A primary focus of the letter is the financial burden of HISA and its enforcement arm, the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU). Funded entirely by industry participants, the programs will have cost the Thoroughbred industry more than $168 million in new regulatory assessments by the end of 2025, according to the THA.
While welcoming HISA’s stated goal of reducing assessments by 50% by 2030 and eliminating them entirely by 2035, the THA called for accelerated cost reductions. “No racetrack should have to reduce days, purses or close entirely because of the financial burden of HISA and HIWU,” the organization wrote.
Anti-Doping Program Revisions
The letter details ongoing discussions with HISA to address what the THA described as “fundamental flaws” in the Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Program. Concerns include due process protections, the classification of certain substances, and penalties viewed as disproportionate to violations.
A particular point of contention has been substances associated with human drug abuse that may enter a horse’s system through environmental contamination. The THA said it pushed for separate classification of such substances and elimination of automatic Provisional Suspensions except in egregious cases posing immediate risks.
According to the letter, HISA agreed to recommend several rule modifications to the Federal Trade Commission, including:
- Eliminating Provisional Suspensions in most Banned Substances cases.
- Capping penalties in contamination cases involving human substance abuse drugs at 60 days when contamination is more likely than not.
- Revising evalution standards in such cases.
- Reducing suspensions of horses and allowing owners hearings in potential horse suspension cases.
- Reclassifying certain previously banned substances.
- Establishing a science-based screening limit for Metformin.
- Creating a “case circumstances” provision granting HIWU discretion to tailor sanctions based on objective standards.
The THA said these changes are intended to ensure sanctions deter misconduct without “destroying careers.”
Lasix and 2026 Decisions Loom
Looking ahead, the THA called 2026 a “pivotal year,” noting that the three-year state exemptions from the Lasix ban granted in 2023 expire in May. The HISA Board must soon determine whether to continue or modify that policy — a decision the THA said could have “a massive impact” on horsemen, horses, and racetracks. The organization pledged full engagement on behalf of its members.
Veterinarians and trainers have also voiced concerns that certain HISA rules limit individualized care. The THA said it will continue advocating for reforms that protect horse welfare while recognizing HISA’s regulatory mission.
Engagement Over Confrontation
Responding to critics who argue for a more adversarial approach, the THA defended its strategy of sustained engagement with HISA. Meaningful reform, the letter states, requires persistence, credibility, and continuous advocacy.
“Our objective has never been to defend the status quo,” the organization wrote, “but to push for reforms that make the system fairer, more practical, and more effective—while protecting both our horses and the people who care for them.”
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Big Heart Racing
26th Feb 2026From a breed and breeding standpoint, bleeding is a physical and genetic issue. Period. Lasix is covering up the fact that the current thoroughbred has a genetic flaw. These horses need to be culled from the thoroughbred population, and the only way is to take a tough stance: ban Lasix.
If you remove Lasix, the careers of the lower level horses will end and they can go into their second careers. Fillies/mares who bled should be discouraged from being bred. And stallions who bled should be identified as such. Responsible breeders, who care about the breed would not therefore breed to stallions who were themselves bleeders.
This is the only way to weed out the bleeders. For the sake of our beautiful thoroughbred, we need to take the steps to eliminate the weakness that is far too common in the North American genetic pool. Otherwise we face genetic collapse.
There’s already the troubling genetic fact that too many horses are being bred to too few stallions: inbreeding. Germany and South Africa have already done research in identifying bleeders from specific stallion lines.
HISA needs to be brave.
The Jockey club already tried by limiting the number of broodmares to stallions each year, but that was struck down by the courts because of the lobby and challenge by the big farms.
This is our only shot at getting rid of the genetic flaw of breeding bleeders to bleeders.
The use of Lasix is the cover-up of the real problem: breeding bleeders to bleeders. Eliminating Lasix will result in the natural selection of the survival of the fittest. The bleeders will not be successful, and the non-bleeders will be. Those horses will then be bred and we will eventually solve the bleeding issue