This week, U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., who helps lead the Congressional Animal Protection Caucus, praised the Churchill Downs and the Horseracing Integrity and Racing Authority (HISA) “for taking steps to ensure the health and safety of thoroughbreds following the deaths of 12 horses in one month at the track.”

At the end of last month, Buchanan and U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Oreg., who also leads the caucus, led a letter to horseracing regulators after the death of nine horses in the leadup to the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes. With even more horses dying, Churchill Downs has suspended racing while investigating the matter.

“A dozen racehorse deaths at one track in such a short period of time is extremely concerning and entirely unacceptable,” said Buchanan and Blumenauer in a joint statement. “The newly announced safety precautions from Churchill Downs and HISA are long overdue. The health and safety of the horses and their riders should be the top priority. We will continue to insist HISA make its investigation public and look forward to working with industry stakeholders to conduct any necessary oversight or implement any recommended changes to prevent these deaths moving forward.”

“Churchill Downs announced that it would temporarily suspend all racing operations at its track to review current safety protocols while both state and federal horseracing regulators continue to investigate the deaths. In a statement, Churchill Downs said, ‘no single factor has been identified as a potential cause and no discernable pattern has been detected to link the fatalities’ following initial investigations by HISA and the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission,” Buchanan’s office noted. “In the meantime, Churchill Downs has instituted several additional safety measures, including restricting the number of starts per horse during a rolling eight-week period and enacting ineligibility standards for poor performances. HISA has also announced that it is taking several steps, including appointing an equine forensics specialist and implementing post-entry screenings.”

Buchanan has been active on animal welfare issues in recent years. In 2020, Buchanan and the late U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Fla., continued their efforts to warn about live animal markets and events in China, including the Yulin Dog Meat Festival. They urged then-President Donald Trump to call for China to ban live animal markets. Also that eyar, the two congressmen teamed up with U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oreg., to introduce a resolution “calling on all nations to end their dog and cat meat trade and to enforce existing laws against the trade.”

In 2016, Buchanan brought out the Safeguard American Food Exports (SAFE) Act which bans exporting horses to Mexican slaughterhouses. Buchanan has also led the charge on Capitol Hill to stop domestic slaughterhouses from creating horse meat for human consumption. Back in December 2018, Trump signed a proposal from Buchanan and Hastings banning the slaughter of cats and dogs for human consumption as part of the Farm Bill. In 2019, Buchanan and then U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Fla., brought out the “Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act.”

Buchanan and U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., are championing a proposal to “permanently ban the slaughter of horses for human consumption” and “prohibit the export of live horses to Mexican and Canadian slaughterhouses to be sold overseas.”

Buchanan introduced the “Save America’s Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act” last month with Schakowsky as the co-sponsor.