The current Supreme Court is doing vital work policing the Constitution’s separation of powers. And it may soon get another chance in a case over whether a private horse-racing authority can deploy regulatory powers usually reserved for the federal government.
In 2020 Congress established the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) to enforce anti-doping and medication controls in the racehorse industry and develop uniform racetrack safety. While most horse races look similar to spectators, they have historically been governed by different rules depending on which track they ran on.
States might differ in the shoes horses can wear or how jockeys can use their crops, and standards may differ from Kentucky’s Churchill Downs to New York’s Belmont Park or California’s Santa Anita—as well as less famous tracks in states like Louisiana or Arkansas.
