HBPA

On Friday--the final day of the National HBPA Conference at Prairie Meadows--a panel entitled "Establishing No-Effect Thresholds and the Importance for the Industry" was led by practicing equine veterinarian and researcher Dr. Clara Fenger. She cited the Horseracing Integrity & Safety Authority's enabling legislation that HISA-covered horses "should compete only when they are free from the influence of medications ..." (her emphasis added). Fenger's point: Testing many substances to limit of detection--if the lab can find it, it's a violation, no matter how tiny the amount and whether it impacts...

Horseshoe Indianapolis took part in an evening of activities linked to the World Jockey Challenge Saturday with funds and awareness being raised for the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF). "We are honored and proud to support the jockeys who ride our horses," said Vice President of the Indiana Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association Jeri Harmon. "These jockeys are part of our business, so being able to assist with such a worthy cause is important to all the owners and breeders in our organization." The Indiana Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association...

Woodbine has canceled Sunday's race card due to the extreme heat forecasted for the Toronto area. The release noted that the decision was made in consultation with the HBPA and the commissioned veterinarian with the safety of the horses and all racing participants a top priority. The Victoria Stakes has been rescheduled to Friday, July 19. Live racing at Woodbine is scheduled to return on Thursday, July 18 with first post at 4:50 p.m.

The July 5 opinion out of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit that declared that part of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) is unconstitutional is generating legal filings from both sides in a related case awaiting a decision in the Eighth Circuit. Both the plaintiffs/appellants in the Eighth Circuit case (led by Bill Walmsley, the president of the Arkansas HBPA, and Jon Moss, the executive director of the Iowa HBPA) and the defendants/appellees (executives with the HISA Authority and the Federal Trade Commission [FTC]),...

A judgment Friday by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit declared that part of the Horseracing and Safety Integrity Act (HISA) is unconstitutional. Even though the three-judge panel agreed with "nearly all" of a lower court's ruling that other contested aspects of HISA's constitutionality were fixed by a Congressional amendment to the law in 2022, the panel's one unconstitutional finding has to do with the HISA Authority's broad powers to investigate and operate. The gravity of that unconstitutionality opinion could be enough to send the case...

Funds totaling an additional $66,588 have been allocated to the Thoroughbred Breed Improvement Program for 2024, according to a press release from the Alberta Thoroughbred Community Racing Association (ACTRA), the Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society (CTHS), and the Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (HBPA). "This allocation of additional funds marks a significant commitment to the enhancement of the Alberta Thoroughbred industry," said CTHS Alberta General Manager Jean Kruse. "We are confident that these investments will not only support the development of local breeding programs but also strengthen the competitiveness of Alberta-bred...

The National Horsemen's Benevolent & Protective Association (HBPA) filed a Petition for Rulemaking under the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) on Monday, requesting the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to create no-effect thresholds. A no-effect threshold, also known as a no-effect screening limit or no-effect cutoff, is a laboratory testing detection level below which no owner or trainer will be punished for innocent and pharmacologically irrelevant concentrations of foreign substances that have no effect on a horse, according to the HBPA. Under the petition, the no-effect thresholds would be required...

Iowa Lieutenant Governor Adam Gregg will deliver the keynote address at the 2024 National HBPA Conference set for July 23-26 at Iowa's Prairie Meadows Casino, Racetrack and Hotel, the association said in a release early Friday morning. Lt. Gov. Gregg will make his remarks on Wednesday, July 24, the conference's first of three days of panel discussions and presentations. Coinciding with the conference will be a starter-allowance race carrying a $50,000 purse. The top three finishers receive automatic entry into the 1 1/16-mile Kent Stirling Memorial Iron Horse, part of...

Thursday's eight-race card at Woodbine Racetrack has been pushed back and will begin at 6:05 p.m., the track announced Monday. The move was made in the best interest of horse welfare as an extreme heat warning is in effect for the city of Toronto and the surrounding areas. Woodbine noted that the decision to push back the start time was made in consultation with the HBPA. Woodbine is the latest track to alter post times due to the heat joining Finger Lakes, who moved both Tuesday and Wednesday cards up...

Earlier this month, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans heard oral arguments in a pivotal case—led by the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (NHBPA)—seeking to overturn the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) on grounds that it is constitutionally flawed. In short, the Fifth Circuit's pending ruling could have profound implications for the short and long-term future of the federal law. Oral arguments in the Fifth Circuit follow a key decision earlier this year out of the United States Court of Appeals...

The Jockeys' Guild has reached an agreement with the Kentucky HBPA and the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association on a mount fee increase effective Nov. 29, which is opening day of the Turfway Park Holiday meet, the organization said in a release Wednesday. The mount fee schedule calls for a minimum fee of $125 at all Kentucky racetracks, including Churchill Downs, Keeneland, Ellis Park, Kentucky Downs and Turfway Park. This agreement also provides for $500 minimum fee in races with purses of $1 million or more. "On behalf of our members who...

The Arizona Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association has extended Turf Paradise's contract to simulcast races for wagering until Nov. 12, the Phoenix track said in a tweet Thursday morning. The extension avoids a shutdown of the track's 37 Off Track Betting sites. A new live horse racing meet is scheduled to start in early January. The news comes after Turf Paradise reported Sept. 19 that the owner of the track, Jerry Sims, would be retiring and that no more live racing or simulcasting would take place after Oct. 1. Additional...