HISA

The Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) on Thursday released the report covering its investigation of the rash of fatalities that occurred during the 2023 Saratoga meet. The report found some factors that may have contributed to the fatalities, while also concluding that there was no link that covered all 14 deaths. "This report concludes that there are a multitude of risk factors that likely contributed to the fatalities during the 2023 Meet. These findings will drive HISA's data collection, recommended racetrack practices and regulatory scheme going forward." the...

Originally charged with administering Clenbuterol to his horse and facing a possible two-year suspension, trainer Jeffrey Englehart was cleared Friday by the Horse Racing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU). The positive was found in an unraced, unnamed horse out of the mare Fast Heart that Englehart purchased for $14,000 at the OBS auction on June 15. He argued that he did not give the horse the drug and that it was had to have been given to the horse prior to his purchase at OBS. Englehart and his attorney requested...

Every week, the TDN posts a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA)-related rulings from around the country. Among this week's rulings, trainer Jonathan Wong has been suspended for two years and fined $25,000 for a post-race metformin positive from last June. Wong told the TDN he has appealed the ruling which could now go before the Federal Trade Commission, head to federal court, or both. He also said that he would seek a temporary injunction against the ban. Trainer Kari Craddock was issued a seven-day suspension...

Saturday's GIII Las Virgenes S. at Santa Anita was a big test for the Bob Baffert-trained filly and 'TDN Rising Star' Kinza (Carpe Diem). She was coming off a scintillating maiden win in which she got a 96 Beyer, but was facing a much stronger challenge in the one-mile stakes. Not only did she have to prove she could go two turns, but she was facing another potential star in the undefeated Kopion (Omaha Beach), the winner of the GIII Santa Ynez S. On paper, this was a match race....

Trainer John Pimental has been handed a 15-month suspension and a fine of $10,000 for possession of banned thyroid medication, Thyro-L. Though Pimental had a prescription to administer the drug to his pony, the possession of a banned substance is classed an anti-doping rule violation under HISA. That news was one of the rulings posted this week among Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from around the country. Pimental's case was resolved without a final hearing after he accepted the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit's (HIWU) sanctions. Pimental's case...

With over 18 years experience in government affairs and stakeholder engagement, Bethany Erb has been appointed to serve as Director of Public Affairs at the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA), the organization announced via press release Monday. In the position, Erb will manage HISA's engagement with policymakers and other stakeholders in Washington, D.C. and around the country, which includes representatives from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) as well as the various advocacy groups inside and outside of the industry. Erb's prior positions include within the U.S. Department of Agriculture,...

by Dr. Mick Peterson and Dr. Wayne McIlwraith This year marks 15 years since the Racing Surfaces Testing Lab (RSTL) was founded by an engineering faculty member at the University of Maine and an orthopedic surgeon from Colorado State University. The non-commercial material testing lab emerged out of the 2006 Grayson-Jockey Club Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit at the urging of Dennis Moore of Hollywood Park and Dan Fick of The Jockey Club. Initially located in one stall of a two-car detached garage in Orono, Maine, the independent...

Following a recommendation from its Furosemide Advisory Committee (FAC), the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority's Board of Directors approved $773,500 in grant funding for three scientific studies on the use of furosemide (also known as "Lasix") to be conducted over the next two years by the Nationwide Children's Hospital, the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine and Washington State University, HISA said in a Wednesday release. The studies will examine the 48-hour period before the start of a Covered Horserace, including the effects of furosemide on equine health and...

On the surface, the case against trainer Jeffrey Englehart seems pretty cut and dried. He had a horse test positive for Clenbuterol, the bronchodilator that is on the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit's (HIWU) list of banned substances. Trainers found using banned substances can be suspended for up to two years. But Englehart, who races at the NYRA tracks and at Finger Lakes, is adamant that he never gave the drug to the horse in question. "We don't use Clenbuterol. Period," Englehart said. So is there more to this story?...

Trainer Mike Lauer is now a month past serving what he believes was an unjust 75-day suspension because a Thoroughbred under his care at Horseshoe Indianapolis tested positive last summer for metformin, a drug used to treat diabetes in people. With more 20 million patients taking it, metformin ranks as the nation's third-most-prescribed human medicine, according to the consumer healthcare website Healthgrades. Before Lauer's case made it to an official arbitration hearing, the 72-year-old conditioner with five decades of licensure was able to present enough evidence to the Horseracing Integrity...

Every week, the TDN posts a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from around the country. Among this week's rulings, the seven-day prohibition on intra-articular injections prior to a timed workout continues to trip up stakeholders. Six new individuals are facing possible sanctions for violations of this rule, to go with the 30 individuals whose cases have already been resolved. A typical first-time violation comes with a $3,000 fine. One of the trainers in question is Ignacio Correas, whose trainee Didia violated the intra-articular injection rule prior...

Cody's Wish (Curlin) was crowned both 2023 Horse of the Year and Older Dirt Male champion at Thursday night's 53rd annual Eclipse Awards ceremony, and when Kelly Dorman, the father of the late Cody Dorman, accepted the evening's highest honor on behalf of owner/breeder Godolphin, the crowd at The Breakers Palm Beach in Florida met his brief pause to shed a few bittersweet tears with a standing ovation that gave him time to collect his thoughts and let the gravity of the moment sink in. On the track, Cody's Wish...