Equine Regulatory Law

Robert L. Heleringer

• Publisher: The University Press of Kentucky
• Year: 2026
• Edition: 2
• eBook ISBN:
  9781985903814
• Topic: Law
• Subtopic: Law Theory & Practice
• Index: Law

Equine Regulatory Law, now in its second edition, examines the legal cases that have most significantly defined the equine industry. This comprehensive book introduces readers to the relationships among privately owned racetracks, state governments, and the state racing commissions that bridge them. Case studies serve as a foundation for explaining the legal regulatory processes involving racing commissions in the United States, such as disciplinary decisions, licensure, and rule claims. Among the cases discussed is Gary and Mary West v. The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, a pivotal decision that protected stewards' discretion to call fouls in horse races, even when the race in question is the Kentucky Derby.

Author Robert L. Heleringer analyzes topics at every level of the modern equine industry, including the constitutionality of the "absolute insurer" rule. This regulation holds the trainer accountable for any substance found in a post-race drug screening and defines processes for both evaluating objections to the outcome of races declared "official" and assessing liabilities for injuries to equine and human participants.

Expanded and updated to incorporate new cases, this second edition of Equine Regulatory Law remains the field's definitive text, standing as an indispensable resource for the industry, law professionals, and students.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-Title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• A Note from the Author
• Chapter One: Racing’s Not-So-Silent Partner: The State Racing Commission
• Chapter Two: Gary and Mary West v. Kentucky Horse Racing Commission: The Kentucky Derby Goes to Court—Again
• Chapter Three: Post-Race Challenges to the Outcome of Races Declared “Official”
• Chapter Four: The Absolute Insurer Rule and the “Dexterity of Lawyers”
• Chapter Five: Exclusions, Ejections, and Discipline of Licensees
• Chapter Six: Liabilities for Injuries to Licensed Participants
• Chapter Seven: Constitutional Law “at the Post” in Horse Racing
• Chapter Eight: “Sometimes Government Works”: The Brave New World of HISA
• Chapter Nine: The History of Barry v. Barchi: A Fifty-Year Retrospective
• In the Shadow of the Wire
• Acknowledgments
• Appendix A: Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act of 2020 (as amended in 2022)
• Appendix B: Barry v. Barchi, Oral Argument, November 7, 1978, U.S. Supreme Court
• Appendix C: Table of Cases
• Appendix D: Disqualifications and Appeals Flow Chart
• Notes
• Selected Bibliography
• Index
• About the Author