LEXINGTON, Ky. – Sen. Mitch McConnell, the powerful U.S. Senate Majority Leader from Kentucky, will support efforts to pass legislation sought by some racing constituencies that would attempt to put in place uniform medication regulations across the country, McConnell said Monday.McConnell’s announcement, which came at a press conference held at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, is the most significant development by far in the legislative prospects for the bill, which has languished in Congress without facing a vote for five years. McConnell, a Republican, would not provide a specific timetable for introducing a bill, but said he wanted to move the bill “as fast as possible” and reach out to Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic House Speaker, for a bipartisan push in both legislative chambers.At the announcement, McConnell was joined by representatives of Keeneland, Churchill Downs, Breeders’ Cup, and The Jockey Club, along with Rep. Andy Barr, who represents Central Kentucky in the House and has co-sponsored the legislation ever since it was first introduced in 2015. In the past, Churchill Downs has opposed efforts to pass the bill, but Bill Carstanjen, chief executive of the company, said Monday that changes to the legislation had moved the company into the “pro” column.“We were really always on the same page from the perspective of something really needs to be done, but it was a question of how to do it and ensuring the longevity of what we do,” Carstanjen said. He listed “independence, clarity of governance, and clarity of roles between those enforcing and administering the rules and regulations, versus those that are creating the rules and regulations” as components of the new bill that Churchill supported.According to the officials, the bill McConnell has agreed to support would require the racing industry to create an “independent, non-governmental regulatory body” that will have a board of eight individuals. That board will set medication and track-safety standards for the racing industry and will be under the purview of the Federal Trade Commission.As in previous versions of the bill, the legislation creates a leading role for the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, a private, non-profit company, in the development and enforcement of the sport’s medication rules. The USADA has a similar role for the U.S. Olympic team and the Ultimate Fighting Championship.While a number of powerful organizations have thrown their support behind the bill, many rank-and-file horsemen continue to oppose the legislation under the belief that USADA will ban the raceday use of furosemide, the diuretic widely used in North American racing to mitigate bleeding in the lungs. However, over the past year, many major racing states have already put in place rules banning the raceday use of furosemide in 2-year-old races, and those bans will be extended to stakes races next year.Many state racing commissions and regulators also have offered opposition to the bill, fearful that the structure it would put in place would largely disempower racing commissions. Under the bill, USADA would enforce the rules devised by the board, but officials said at the Monday press conference that the company would be able to “contract out” state-level enforcement to existing regulatory bodies. Thoroughbred racing is currently regulated on a state-by-state basis, and many jurisdictions have differences in medication policies, though the vast majority are minor. Many racing groups have pressed for years for uniformity in rules throughout the United States, and the continued failure to achieve uniformity despite decades or working toward the goal led some powerful groups to seek a federal solution.“Today’s announcement is the culmination of years of work and negotiation to develop uniform racing standards under one independent regulatory body,” Barr said.