An already lengthy legal journey challenging the Horseracing and Safety Integrity Act will likely remain in courts for several more years after three U.S. Supreme Court summary dispositions.

The Supreme Court is sending the cases to the original appeals courts after vacating the previous decisions. The justices want the Fifth, Sixth and Eighth Circuit Courts of Appeals to reconsider a new precedent handed down June 27 in Federal Communications Commission (FCC) vs. Consumers’ Research. The court nixed arguments that the FCC violated the non-delegation doctrine, which is at the heart of the HISA lawsuits.

Both sides of the cases — the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority and the National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (NHBPA) — are confident they will prevail when the lower courts reconsider the arguments. The Authority cites the new FCC decision as validating its defense.

“We are encouraged by the Supreme Court’s orders, which preserve the status quo and leave the Act undisturbed,” according to a statement from the Authority. “The Supreme Court’s ruling in FCC vs. Consumers’ Research rejected a constitutional challenge under the private nondelegation doctrine. That ruling aligns with what every district court has already said in the HISA cases: The private nondelegation doctrine challenges against the Act have no merit.”

While the Authority sees parallels in the FCC decision, the NHBPA sees a “renewed opportunity for the [court] to address the fundamental constitutional issues” with HISA.

“HISA is fundamentally different from and more flawed than the statute in the Consumers’…