Sam Houston Race Park, without out-of-state simulcast export of its signal since its Thoroughbred meet began Jan. 6 amid opposition of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority by the Texas Racing Commission and other Texas entities, will resume domestic simulcasting Feb. 3.
The move comes after a Jan. 31 ruling by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals that denied a request by HISA and the Federal Trade Commission to put the brakes on the appellate court's ruling that HISA is facially unconstitutional. Tuesday's decision also means that a preliminary injunction against enforcement of HISA rules issued by a federal district court in Louisiana, an injunction that had been partially stayed by the Fifth Circuit until it held HISA unconstitutional in November, remains in effect.
"Now I'm grateful to have some legal backing to say it doesn't apply in Texas now, and we can allow our horsemen and tracks to export the signal," TRC executive director Amy Cook said.
Dwight Berube, vice president and general manager at Sam Houston, expressed relief at the resumption of simulcasting, noting that betting on Sam Houston is down "probably 90% since last year, but that was understandable and exactly what we anticipated when we lost the export signal."
Simulcast wagering accounts for the vast majority of betting at most Thoroughbred tracks.
Wagering also dropped sharply in July at Lone Star Park when simulcasting handle ceased with the onset of HISA's Racetrack Safety Program. Over the second half of 2022, quarter horse racing largely took place in Texas, and that breed does not fall under HISA oversight.
HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus said in early January before the latest HISA court ruling that if the TRC did not allow its state racetracks to export their signal, they would not fall under HISA's authority.
In expectation of the restrictions in simulcasting, the track trimmed its season from 50 to 43 days and eliminated some stakes races, including a pair of races from its Houston Racing Festival. Entire purses dropped from $12 million in 2022 to $10 million this year. Roughly half of that $10 million was funded from state legislation passed in 2019 that directs part of the money from sales tax on feed, tack, and horse products toward an account that funds purses.
"We missed our big day," Berube said of the Jan. 28 card that included the Houston Ladies Classic Stakes (G3), among other races. "But I'm delighted to have (simulcasting) back."
The track will continue to begin its afternoon cards at 1 p.m. CT this week from Feb. 3-5 but could shift to "the later part of the day" going forward on Fridays, potentially starting Feb. 10, Berube said.
"We'll probably request that of the commission by tomorrow," he added.
In late December, legislation was passed as part of an omnibus bill in Washington that was meant to place HISA on firmer legal ground, clarifying some of the language that authorized it, but last month Cook stated she felt it still did not resolve the statuary conflict between HISA and the Texas Racing Act. Lazarus said in early January that she disagreed with the TRC's interpretation of Texas racing law.
