I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5693 
To protect the health and welfare of covered horses and improve the integrity 
and safety of horseracing by authorizing States to enter into an interstate 
compact to develop and enforce scientific medication control rules and 
racetrack safety rules that are uniform for each equine breed, and for 
other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 26, 2023 
Mr. HIGGINS of Louisiana introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To protect the health and welfare of covered horses and 
improve the integrity and safety of horseracing by au-
thorizing States to enter into an interstate compact to 
develop and enforce scientific medication control rules 
and racetrack safety rules that are uniform for each 
equine breed, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Racehorse Health and Safety Act of 2023’’. 
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(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Definitions. 
Sec. 3. Repeal of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act of 2020. 
Sec. 4. Authorization to enter into interstate compact. 
TITLE I—RACEHORSE HEALTH AND SAFETY ORGANIZATION 
Sec. 101. Racehorse Health and Safety Organization. 
Sec. 102. Role of States and State racing commissions. 
TITLE II—HORSERACING SCIENTIFIC MEDICATION CONTROL 
Sec. 201. Scientific medication control committees. 
Sec. 202. Horseracing scientific medication control rules. 
TITLE III—RACETRACK SAFETY 
Sec. 301. Definition of Committee. 
Sec. 302. Racetrack Safety Committee. 
Sec. 303. Racetrack safety rules. 
TITLE IV—RULE VIOLATIONS 
Sec. 401. Prohibited acts. 
Sec. 402. Results management and disciplinary process. 
Sec. 403. Administrative sanctions. 
TITLE V—GENERAL PROVISIONS 
Sec. 501. Effective dates. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) ADVANCE DEPOSIT WAGER.—The term ‘‘ad-
vance deposit wager’’ means a legal form of pari-
mutuel wager in which an individual deposits money 
into an account and such funds are used to pay for 
parimutuel wagers made either on-track or off-track. 
(2) BOARD.—The term ‘‘Board’’ means the 
board of directors of the Racehorse Health and Safe-
ty Organization established under section 101. 
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(3) BREED REGISTRY.—The term ‘‘breed reg-
istry’’— 
(A) means the organization with which an 
owner or breeder officially registers his or her 
horse for horseracing; and 
(B) includes— 
(i) in the case of Thoroughbreds, the 
Jockey Club; 
(ii) in the case of Standardbreds, the 
United States Trotting Association; and 
(iii) in the case of Quarter Horses, 
the American Quarter Horse Association. 
(4) COVERED
HORSE.—The term ‘‘covered 
horse’’ means any Thoroughbred, Standardbred, or 
Quarter Horse during the period— 
(A) beginning on the date of the horse’s 
first timed and reported workout at a racetrack 
that participates in covered horseraces or at a 
training facility; and 
(B) ending on the earlier of— 
(i) the date on which the horse is per-
manently ineligible to be entered in a cov-
ered horserace; or 
(ii) the date of the death of the horse. 
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(5) COVERED HORSERACE.—The term ‘‘covered 
horserace’’ means any horserace involving covered 
horses that has a substantial relation to interstate 
commerce, including any horserace that is the sub-
ject of interstate off-track wagers or advance deposit 
wagers. 
(6) COVERED
PERSON.—The term ‘‘covered 
person’’ means any trainer, owner, breeder, jockey, 
driver, racetrack, veterinarian, person (as defined in 
section 1, of title 1, United States Code) licensed by 
a State racing commission, any agent, assign, or em-
ployee of such a person, and any other horse support 
personnel engaged in the care, training, or racing of 
covered horses. 
(7) EQUINE INDUSTRY REPRESENTATIVE.—The 
term ‘‘equine industry representative’’ means an or-
ganization representing the interests of, and whose 
membership consists in whole or in part of, owners, 
breeders, trainers, racetracks, veterinarians, State 
racing commissions, jockeys, and drivers. 
(8) IMMEDIATE
FAMILY
MEMBER.—The term 
‘‘immediate family member’’ includes a spouse, do-
mestic partner, mother, father, aunt, uncle, sibling, 
child, or member of the same household. 
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(9) INTERSTATE COMPACT.—The term ‘‘inter-
state compact’’ means the interstate compact en-
tered into pursuant to this Act. 
(10) INTERSTATE
OFF-TRACK
WAGER.—The 
term ‘‘interstate off-track wager’’ has the meaning 
given such term in section 3 of the Interstate Horse-
racing Act of 1978 (15 U.S.C. 3002). 
(11) JOCKEY; DRIVER.—The terms ‘‘jockey’’ 
and ‘‘driver’’ mean an individual who is a rider or 
driver of a covered horse in a covered horserace. 
(12) MEMBER
STATE.—The term ‘‘member 
State’’ means a State that is a member of the inter-
state compact. 
(13) OWNER; BREEDER.—The terms ‘‘owner’’ 
and ‘‘breeder’’ mean an individual who— 
(A) holds an ownership interest in a cov-
ered horse; or 
(B) is in the business of breeding covered 
horses. 
(14) 
RACETRACK.—The 
term 
‘‘racetrack’’ 
means an organization or person licensed by a State 
racing commission to conduct covered horseraces. 
(15) RHSO.—The term ‘‘RHSO’’ means the 
Racehorse Health and Safety Organization estab-
lished under section 101. 
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