Mountaineer Casino Racetrack & Resort Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Federal Horse Racing Anti-Doping Regulations Take Effect, Including In W.Va.

West Virginia and Louisiana filed an injunction against the agency in July, keeping the act from being fully implemented while federal proceedings continued.

The federal Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act’s anti-doping program went into effect Monday.

The act creates safety programs and regulates medication for racehorses statewide. It was previously ruled unconstitutional by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last November. The court ruled the act gave too much power to the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority and not enough to the Federal Trade Commission.

In response, Congress granted the FTC the authority to oversee the agency. It has now reached agreements with all state commissions and tracks that feature live racing.

West Virginia and Louisiana filed an injunction against the agency in July, keeping the act from being fully implemented while federal proceedings continued. West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey had previously made statements against the agency’s legality.

A stay from the appeals court halted the injunction, though a revised ruling still blocked certain rules involving access to track records and facilities, calculations of fees paid to the agency by the states and definitions on which horses were covered by regulations.

Days after the original suspension of the rules took effect, a horse collapsed during a race at Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack & Resort in New Cumberland and had to be euthanized.

West Virginia has two horse racing venues: the Mountaineer Racetrack & Resort and the Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races.

Federal Court Rules In Favor Of States In Horse Racing Rules Case

A federal appeals court has ruled in favor of West Virginia, Louisiana and Texas in a case regarding the implementation of federal racetrack safety rules for horse racing.

Both the nonprofit Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA), and the federal act that created it, were declared unconstitutional by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Congress originally passed HISA in 2020.

The authority would have overseen safety programs and made decisions regulating doping and medication in horse racing. In the past, these decisions were made at the state level.

The court ruled that the act gave too much power to the agency and not enough to the Federal Trade Commission, which had the power to approve or reject HISA regulations but not to modify them.

Attorney General Patrick Morrisey has previously made statements against the legality of HISA, while animal rights organizations like Animal Wellness Action disagree, calling the act the “sport’s last chance at survival.”

An injunction was previously placed on the agency by the U.S. District Court’s Western District of Louisiana last July, but was blocked by the appellate court. A racehorse collapsed and was euthanized during a race at Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack, and Resort in New Cumberland shortly after the initial injunction.

West Virginia has two racetracks in the state, also including Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races.

Federal Appeals Court Halts Horse Racing Injunction in W.Va., La.

A federal appeals court blocked a ruling that would have kept the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority from implementing racetrack safety and enforcement rules in both West Virginia and Louisiana.

The hold comes after a preliminary injunction was granted late last month against the agency by a federal court. The U.S. District Court’s Western District of Louisiana originally ruled against the agency, arguing it overstepped its bounds on three rules that went into place nationwide on July 1.

The rules in question included how horses covered by the rules are defined, the ability for investigators to confiscate records from anyone who owns or “performs services on” a covered horse and basing state payments for upkeep partly on race purses.

State officials like West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey originally praised the injunction, while animal rights groups like Animal Wellness Action condemned it.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals blocked the order Friday as an administrative stay while it continues to consider the case. It’s unclear how long the block will be in effect.

Days after the original suspension of the rules took effect, a horse collapsed during a race at Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack & Resort in New Cumberland and had to be euthanized.

Days After Injunction Blocks Safety Regulations, Racehorse Collapses

A racehorse collapsed and was euthanized during a race Wednesday at a track in the Northern Panhandle. This is the first reported death after an injunction stopped officials from enforcing safety regulations in West Virginia’s thoroughbred racing industry earlier this week.

A summary of the race at Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack, and Resort in New Cumberland from horse racing results company Equibase shows the horse, named Little Christy, had a “bad step and fell in mid stretch, being euthanized on the track.”

The injunction stops both West Virginia and Louisiana from following safety regulations from the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority. It has been criticized by animal rights groups like Animal Wellness Action, who once more reprimanded the decision after the horse’s death.

The group’s Executive Director Marty Irby said if West Virginia horse racing is to thrive in the long term, the state should get behind the agency and its regulations.

“I can’t really believe it, it’s quite surprising because they’re basically just siding with animal abusers,” Irby said. “It doesn’t make sense for the state.”

State officials like Attorney General Patrick Morrisey praised the decision earlier this week, saying HISA had the potential to harm the state’s horseracing industry.

West Virginia Public Broadcasting reached out to the West Virginia Racing Commission. The agency said it is preparing a statement.

Horse Body Found In Landfill, Prompting Questions About Racing Industry

A former West Virginia horse racing commissioner says photos posted online of a euthanized thoroughbred racing horse surrounded by trash in a landfill should be a wakeup call for state leaders.

Bill Phillips served for years on the commission before being replaced by Gov. Jim Justice in 2017. He told the Charleston Gazette-Mail that the commission is underfunded and understaffed.

The commission’s executive director, Joe Moore, said the thoroughbred named Bridget Moloney was catastrophically injured during a September race and couldn’t be saved. He said there are no state rules for the disposal of racehorse remains, but Mountaineer Park Racetrack has procedures, and he says they weren’t followed in this case.

The commission took no formal action against the track, and a sheriff’s investigation ruled out animal cruelty.

Profits Keep Falling at Mountaineer Casino Amid Competition

Profits at Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack & Resort have plummeted to less than half their 2014 levels.

Reno, Nevada-based Eldorado Resorts Inc., which owns the New Cumberland casino, announced their quarterly earnings Thursday.

The company says Mountaineer’s adjusted earnings from July 1 through Sept. 30 were $4 million. Adjusted earnings for the same quarter in 2015 were $6.4 million last year and $9.1 million in 2014.

The Intelligencer and Wheeling News-Register reports West Virginia casinos have watched profits slide as new facilities opened in Pennsylvania and Ohio over the past decade, especially the Rivers Casino in downtown Pittsburgh and The Meadows Racetrack and Casino near Washington, Pennsylvania.

Company officials said the county’s July 2015 indoor smoking ban has also hurt business.

Mountaineer remains Hancock County’s largest employer.