Sec. 2. Findings
279 words·~1 min read·
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The Congress finds the following: The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act prohibits the adulteration or misbranding of any food, drug, or device in interstate commerce. The manufacture, delivery, and use of certain performance enhancing drugs in horseracing can constitute violations of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. According to a Food and Drug Administration Import Alert titled Animal Drug Imported For Use By Racetrack Veterinarians , the Food and Drug Administration routinely receives complaints from State racetrack authorities about the illegal use of clenbuterol, detomidine hydrochloride, glucosaminoglycan polysulfuric acid ester, hyaluronic acid, and isoxsuprine hydrochloride.
Currently, nearly every horse participating in interstate horseracing is injected shortly before racing with furosemide, a drug that is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in horses only for the treatment of edema. Congress enacted the Interstate Horseracing Act of 1978 to regulate interstate commerce with respect to parimutuel wagering on horseracing in order to further the horseracing industry of the United States. The use of performance-enhancing drugs in horseracing is widespread in the United States, where no uniform regulations exist with respect to the use of, and testing for, performance-enhancing drugs in interstate horseracing.
A 2012 New York Times investigation found that, on average, every week 24 horses die racing, a high equine fatality rate likely caused by the misuse of permitted medication and abuse of illegal drugs. A 2013 horseracing industry study found that a large majority of parimutuel wagering participants avoid wagering at certain tracks and when certain trainers compete because they assume illegal drug use affects race results. Total parimutuel wagering on Thoroughbred horseracing in the United States declined 30 percent from 2002 to 2014.