ARCI

Dr. John Chancey will lead the Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI) Drug Testing Standards and Practices Committee as the new Chair, according to a release from the organization. Chancey is a long-time regulatory veterinarian and is currently the Executive Director of the Oklahoma Horse Racing Commission. Chancey replaces Duncan Patterson, the Chair of the Delaware Thoroughbred Racing Commission, who will now lead the ARCI Continuing Education Committee. "Duncan has been a great steward for the Association, but the time has come to put a veterinarian in charge of this...

Every week, the TDN publishes a roundup of key official rulings from the primary tracks within the four major racing jurisdictions of California, New York, Florida and Kentucky. Here's a primer on how each of these jurisdictions adjudicates different offenses, what they make public (or not) and where. The TDN will also post a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA)-related rulings from the same week. These will include decisions from around the country. California Track: Santa Anita Date: 06/16/2023 Licensee: Ian Kruljac, trainer Penalty: $1,000 fine...

The Nebraska Racing and Gaming Commission's executive director, Tom Sage, has been appointed the repeat chairman of the Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI). Sage first served as chairman in 2020. The ARCI chairs generally serve one-year terms, but Sage was awarded a subsequent term due to the effects of COVID-19 on the industry and returns again for the coming year. The current outgoing ARCI chair is Louisiana Racing Commission executive director Charles Gardiner III. The new chair-elect is Doug Moore, who was appointed to the Washington Horse Racing Commission's...

The Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI) has formally asked the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to set aside and temporarily not approve proposed anti-doping and medication control rules proposed by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) until the constitutionality of the HISA Act is determined by the Courts. "This has nothing to do with wanting uniform rules or having a central rule-making authority, two things the ARCI supports," said Ed Martin, ARCI President. "This all has to do with avoiding a situation where an enforcement action is overturned because...

The Board of the Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI) has unanimously requested the Federal Trade Commission to delay final action on HISA's proposed Anti-Doping and Medication Control rules until the constitutional questions being litigated are resolved, they announced in a press release Wednesday. "We cannot have a situation where an enforcement action is overturned because the authority of the enforcing entity to act is in question," said Ed Martin, ARCI President. "The only way to avoid that is to delay approval of HISA rules leaving existing state rules and...

Despite all the legal jockeying these past few weeks and months, the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act's (HISA) anti-doping and medication control program still appears set for launch on Jan. 1 in the vast majority of states that conduct pari-mutuel wagering. This means on the first day of 2023, thousands of trainers, veterinarians and other backstretch workers must grapple with a new set of rules guiding how and when to administer a set of everyday medications--the list of which can be found here--to avoid falling foul of a post-race and...

ARCI President Ed Martin joins this week's TDN Writers' Room to discuss the recent news that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that HISA is unconstitutional.

For well over a year, we have been told that the HISA Act was legally bulletproof and within the parameters of the US Constitution. According to a unanimous decision of a three judge panel from both political parties issued last week, such assertions may not be so. The ARCI has not taken sides in this legal dispute, although some of our member agencies have as there are serious issues involving States rights, taxation without representation and commandeering that are at stake. The final outcome of the legal process may not...

FRANKFORT, KY - After a brief private meeting between attorneys and the hearing officer to discuss "confidentiality" matters, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission's hearing addressing trainer Bob Baffert's appeal continued, slowly but surely, on Wednesday in Frankfort, KY. While Tuesday's session focused on the KHRC's medication rules, along with those established by the industry's Racing Medication and Testing Consortium (RMTC) and the model rules of the Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI), the center of interest Wednesday was the corticosteroid betamethasone itself. The day started off with Dr. Heather Knych,...

LEXINGTON, KY--The Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI) announced the official launch of the Sports Betting Regulators Association (SBRA) during the closing session of the group's 88th Annual Conference on Safe Horses and Honest Sport. ARCI president and CEO Ed Martin explained that the formation of the SBRA has been in the works for several years and was organized to meet a growing need to support government agencies assigned with the responsibility of regulating sports betting within their jurisdiction. Sports betting in America continues to expand and has now been...

LEXINGTON, KY--The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) was a popular topic of discussion on Tuesday at the Association of Racing Commissioners International's (ARCI) 88th Annual Conference on Safe Horses and Honest Sport. Early in the day's session, a panel was held on the potential legal issues that could arise with the implementation of HISA. John Roach, HISA's general counsel, joined panelists Nolan Jackson and Joel Turner of Frost, Brown, Todd, LLC. The first issue examined concerned HISA's possible qualification as a Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), a federal law...

   LEXINGTON, KY - The Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI) hosted the first day of their 88th annual conference on Safe Horses and Honest Sport on Monday, April 11 at the Griffin Gate Marriott in Lexington. The three-day event is held in conjunction with the meetings of The National Racing Compact and The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority. ARCI President Ed Martin opened the first session, emphasizing that racing currently sits at a crossroads in the sport's history with the impending implantation of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act....