The Jockey Club backs the SAFE Act. Again. The horses are still dying.
And while the statements roll out, the tweets start flying—public support, alignment, the usual chorus of “we’re with this.”
But then there’s this:
“Wrapping two days in DC and a dozen meetings with legislators and staffers on the SAFE Act. Very optimistic on a path forward to finally get this done.”
— Pat Cummings, April 17, 2026
And this:
“Also great to see @jockeyclub and @breederscup got on board publicly (and all on the same day as our meetings).”
Read that again. On the same day as the meetings. Not before. Not leading. Not driving. The same day.
Who’s In the Room?
There’s a big difference in this game between issuing statements and working a room.
Right now, we see Pat Cummings in Washington, meeting with legislators, staffers, putting in the work. Boots on the ground. Conversations that matter. The kind of effort that actually moves legislation. Maybe The Jockey Club has people there. Maybe the Breeders’ Cup does. Maybe 1/ST does. Maybe. But we don’t see them. What we do see—clearly, publicly—is who is there and who is tweeting about being there in spirit. And after years of “support,” that distinction matters.
Seventeen Years of “Support”
The SAFE Act—or some version of it—has been floating around Washington since 2009. Seventeen years. Read that again too.
Seventeen years of:
- Endorsements
- Statements
- “We support this legislation”
And yet:
No finish line.
No vote.
No result.
Now suddenly, there’s movement. Meetings. Momentum. Optimism. And the public support tweets line up… on the same day as the meetings. You can call that timing. Or you can connect dots.
We’ve Seen This Movie Before
When something matters to the industry—really matters—it gets done. When HISA was on the table, there weren’t just statements. There was pressure. Coordination. Calls. Influence. Urgency. Loans. Money. It passed.
So we know:
- The relationships exist
- The access exists
- The ability exists
Which makes one question unavoidable: Why hasn’t this gotten done?
Accolades vs. Action
Scroll through the reaction to the SAFE Act push and you’ll see it:
- Public support announcements
- Self-congratulatory posts
- Organizations aligning themselves with the moment
Everyone wants to be seen on the right side once the spotlight is on. That’s easy. What’s not easy?
Being in Washington.
Setting meetings.
Walking into offices.
Answering hard questions.
Pushing something across the line.
Right now, we see one person doing that. Pat Cummings. And by his own account, legislators hadn’t even heard from some of the biggest names in the sport until now.
Let that sink in.
Timing Isn’t Random
I’ve seen this play out before. I saw Mike Repole bring Governor Ron DeSantis to the races. I saw him bring him to the Kentucky Derby.
I saw pressure applied where it matters. And what happened? Decoupling didn’t pass. Not yet. You know how I feel about coincidences. If not, by now you should.
Now I see:
- Repole pushing issues directly
- Pat Cummings—who works closely with him—on the ground in DC
- Meetings happening
- And suddenly, public support lighting up from organizations that have “supported” this bill for years
Draw your own conclusions.
While We Wait, The Pipeline Doesn’t
We don’t need to get lost in charts and reports to understand the reality. Slaughter isn’t going down. It’s going up. Time matters. And this is a bill that has been sitting, stalled, supported-but-not-passed, for nearly two decades. Every year it doesn’t get done isn’t neutral. It’s consequential.
Two Sentences vs. Seventeen Years
The Jockey Club’s latest statement is two sentences long. It says the right things. But after seventeen years, saying the right things isn’t the standard anymore.
Doing the right things is.
Because we are past the point of:
- Awareness
- Alignment
- Public positioning
This is about execution.
The Only Question That Matters
If the SAFE Act gets done now—after all these years—the timeline is going to matter. Who pushed it. Who showed up. Who made the calls.
Who walked the halls. And who didn’t. Because support isn’t measured in statements. It’s measured in results.
The Bottom Line
For seventeen years, this bill has lived in statements. Now, finally, it might live in action. We see who’s in the room. We see who isn’t. And if this gets across the finish line now, don’t tell me it just happened. Not after all this time.
Last Saturday I made a nice and well documented wager on Trendsetter in the Lexington. He won at 32-1. I received so many messages from people who “had him too” I can’t understand how he remained 32-1. You’ll either get that or you won’t. I’m looking for a prop on the prediction markets on how many people and organizations take credit for this passing if it does, of course I’m taking the over. I’m a professional.
Not yet:
