There was the hearing by a House consumer protection subcommittee less than two months after the post-race death of filly Eight Belles at the Kentucky Derby. The meeting, called by Reps. Bobby L. Rush (D-Ill.), the panel’s chairman, and Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.), also examined breeding practices, the safety of various track surfaces and the use of steroids.

Lawmakers examining the health and safety of thoroughbred racehorses on Thursday advocated for a centralized governing authority that would regulate the sport, as critics of the racing industry called for congressional intervention to create that body.

“We’re looking for Arnold Schwarzenegger’s upper body and then we go to Don Knotts’ legs and knees,” said Jess Jackson, owner of Curlin, the 2007 Horse of the Year.

Trainer Rick Dutrow, who admitted injecting Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Big Brown with anabolic steroids, which were legal in the states where the horse raced, was expected to speak before the committee but didn’t show up. Dutrow said he was too ill to attend, the Associated Press reported.

Of about 15,000 licensed trainers in the U.S., nearly 9% have been cited for a medication violation in the last five years, according to information provided to the subcommittee by the Assn. of Racing Commissioners International. Some of those who testified said that, unlike in other sports, there doesn’t appear to be a stigma attached to performance-enhancement violations, which are set by individual states.

For details about the hearing, check out SI.