NYTHA PRESIDENT JOE APPELBAUM:
STATEMENT ON THE HORSE RACING INTEGRITY AND SAFETY ACT

August 31, 2020

“Horsemen should view today’s developments with the Horse Racing Integrity and
Safety Act with hope. It’s been clear for a generation that a systematic approach to
equine welfare is needed and this effort is a big step in that direction. The broad changes
proposed today by Senator McConnell are a significant improvement on previous drafts of
legislation and I’d like to personally commend the industry participants for working
together to overcome their differences.

The real work starts now, as we will need to not only pass this legislation but actually
implement its proposals. NYTHA looks forward to working with all parties to ensure that
horse racing has a worthy system ensuring the safety of our equine athletes and a level
playing field. Our primary stakeholders, horsemen and bettors, deserve nothing less.”

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