Udall revives push for national horse racing standards following New York Times investigation

U.S. Sen. Tom Udall on Monday revived his push for uniform federal standards aimed at making the horse racing industry safer following a New York Times investigation into a deadly and debilitating year — for both horses and jockeys — at tracks in New Mexico and elsewhere around the country. Udall, D-N.M., said the newspaper’s findings paint a “very disturbing” picture of the industry in the United States and New Mexico in particular. The Times’ analysis also found that five of the six tracks with the highest rate of incidents per 1,000 starts last year were in New Mexico — Ruidoso Downs, Sunland Park, Zia Park, The Downs in Albuquerque and SunRay Park. “The Times expose has shined a glaring light on the need for national standards in a sport that reaps gambling profits, but has lacked proper oversight for decades,” Udall said. Udall and Republican Congressman Ed Whitfield of Kentucky introduced legislation last spring seeking to impose a national ban on performance-enhancing drugs in horse racing. Despite voluntary reforms offered by the industry over the years, Udall said legislation is the “only viable way” to address doping problems within the sport...more

With Udall, the "only viable way" is always federal control.  Next up:  MMA, Boxing & Rodeo.