An amendment that would have prevented racehorses from being transported from Illinois tracks to Mexican and Canadian slaughterhouses in Mexico and Canada has been withdrawn by an Illinois Racing Board (IRB) commissioner, who also resigned from that body.

In August, then-IRB Commissioner Kathy Byrne proposed an amendment to the “Humane Treatment of Horses” rule that would prevent horses from leaving Illinois tracks for transport to foreign slaughter facilities by requiring that owners or trainers to sign off on documents indicating the animal’s destination and the reason for its transfer. Byrne said IRB regulations required that she gather the opinions of racetrack operators and horsemen’s associations before the rule change could receive a vote by the full board.

“I did everything the board said I had to do,” Byrne said.

On Nov. 17, Byrne and others presented their testimony about the proposed rule change, but it never received an up or down vote from that body, she said