Equine Law

Though officials within the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) Authority have already made huge strides forward in terms of across-the-board equine safety standards, one ongoing concern among stakeholders is that when it comes to the enforcement arm of the national program, an inflexibility in the way some cases are handled and sanctions meted out means the penalties don't always fit the crime. To discuss these concerns, the TDN recently spoke with Alan Foreman, chief executive officer of the Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association and national ombudsman on behalf of HISA and...

Edited Press Release The link for an equine-related Committee on Animals and the Law of the New York State Bar Association [has gone] live. It's a webinar on the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA): Its Impact on Equine Welfare, NYS Racing and Regulation, and Federal Administrative and Constitutional Law. The webinar will be held Thursday, April 18 from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. EDT. Attorneys who attend are eligible for up to three NYS MCLE credit hours. These credit hours are valid in almost every U.S. jurisdiction. Non-attorneys are...

by Andrew J. Mollica, Esq and Len Green, CPA What an industry! The recent, well-publicized ongoing legal sagas of both Ahmed Zayat and Ken Ramsey have brought issues surrounding owner-trainer financial relationships into clear focus. Yet, the truth is that no-pay or slow-paying owners probably have been a small, but existing part of racing since the game was invented. Despite its topical nature, the problem is not going away anytime soon, and the reason is simple: horse racing is a 21st-century industry that is based on an 18th-century business model....

When the MGG Investment Group filed a complaint in Fayette Circuit Court on Tuesday seeking the return of horses previously owned by Zayat Stables which had been sold privately and at public auction, it raised the question: is it the responsibility of a buyer at auction or a sales company to run a search prior to the transaction to determine if the horse is being sold free of liens and encumbrances? And are private buyers of horses required to do so? In short: might the buyers of those horses at...