The enforcement mechanism behind the federal horse racing integrity law is unconstitutional because it empowers a private authority to issue subpoenas and levy fines without oversight from a government agency, the Fifth Circuit said Friday.

But most of the other elements of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act of 2020 are constitutional, Judge Stuart Kyle Duncan said in the Friday opinion.

The law empowers a private corporation called the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority to create and enforce nationwide rules for thoroughbred horse racing.

Although Congress amended the law to give the Federal Trade Commission general rulemaking power over the …