HISA

The Jockeys' Guild and the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) on Tuesday hosted a first-ever symposium at Keeneland in an effort to generate discussion on how the Thoroughbred industry can work together to advance the mental well-being of jockeys across the country. Retired NFL player Randy Grimes, who advocates for appropriate and accessible mental wellness and addiction-related resources for professional athletes, gave the keynote address, and retired jockey Eurico Rosa Da Silva, who penned the book "Riding for Freedom," also spoke on his lifelong struggles with mental wellness and...

On the day that Thoroughbred drug testing nationwide got transferred to the control of the Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) Authority, Robert Williams, the executive director for the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC), disclosed during that board's monthly meeting that three outstanding Thoroughbred drug positives remain unadjudicated by the commission and are still lingering at various stages in the regulatory process. That disclosure is not only timely because of the HISA Authority's May 22 implementation of the Anti-Doping and Medication Control program. Monday's news of the three...

The Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit (HIWU) and RealResponse relaunched its anonymous whistleblower platforms to enable Thoroughbred racing participants to submit tips regarding potential violations of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority's (HISA) Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) and Racetrack Safety Programs. At the time of the original Program launch Mar. 27, 2023, the platforms were only accepting tips related to ADMC Program violations. Contacts to submit a tip: Phone Line: (888) 714-HIWU (4498) Text Line: (855) 901-TIPS (8477) Email: hiwutips@hiwu.realresponse.com "Opening up HIWU's anonymous whistleblower platforms to those seeking...

After a series of false starts, the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act's (HISA) signature anti-doping and medication control (ADMC) program is now set to go into effect Monday. On Friday, TDN spoke with HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus on a variety of topics including the launch of HISA's signature drug control program, operational expenses, the Forte situation, Kentucky Derby week and Texas. The following is a very lightly edited version of that interview. TDN: Last week, the TDN published a story on the headwinds facing the Texas racing industry. In it,...

In a letter released to the media Friday afternoon, U.S. Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon), along with 15 bipartisan supporters, are urging the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) to launch an investigation into the equine deaths at Churchill Downs earlier this month. Addressed to HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus, Blumenauer's letter requests a response within 60 days and makes note of figures from the Equine Injury Database showing that between 2009 and 2021 some 7,274 Thoroughbred fatalities have occurred on American racetracks. The Congressman urges HISA to make the findings of...

In Thursday's Wall Street Journal, the editorial board weighed in on the Horse Racing Safety and Integrity Act, with the traditionally conservative newspaper praising the current Supreme Court's "vital work policing the Constitution's separation of powers." "It soon may get another chance in a case over whether a private horse-racing authority can deploy regulatory powers usually reserved for the federal government," they write. "HISA was shepherded by Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell, and anyone who follows the racing industry knows the Minority Leader's interest in creating national standards for safety and...

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. With the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) having gone into effect on July 1, 2022, the TDN will also post a roundup of the relevant HISA-related rulings from the same week. California Track: Santa Anita Date: 05/12/2023 Licensee: Timothy Miller, owner...

The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled Thursday that it will not grant a full-court rehearing to the losing plaintiffs who contested a three-judge panel's Mar. 3 decision to uphold the constitutionality of the Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA). The case is one of five anti-HISA constitutionality lawsuits currently active in the federal court system. Led by the states of Oklahoma, West Virginia and Louisiana, the plaintiffs collectively petitioned Apr. 17 for a rarely granted "en banc" procedure that asked for a rehearing before...

The Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit (HIWU)'s website has a number of educational materials to assist with the relaunch of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety (HISA) Authority's Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Program, which is slated for May 22. Among the downloads available are: Out-of-Competition Testing Dietary Supplements Differences in testing processes for routine timed workouts versus workouts to be released from the Vets' List Processes for retiring/unretiring a Covered Horse from the testing pool Withdrawal Guidance Advisory from the Racing Medication & Testing Consortium Prohibited Substance Lists for Banned...

The Texas judge handling the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (NHBPA) constitutionality lawsuit that is trying to halt the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) on Wednesday refused to grant an injunction that would delay the May 22 implementation of the Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) program. In issuing his order, United States District Court Judge James Wesley Hendrix of the Northern District of Texas (Lubbock Division) pointed out that it is the second time in two weeks that he has informed the plaintiffs in a court order that...

If proponents of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) get their wish, July 1 will be a day of cautious celebration-the law's first official birthday, and a time when its drug control program would also be more than a month old, barring any further last-minute legal interventions. In that event, most of the country will be operating under a federal racetrack safety and medication control framework for the first time in the sport's history. Texas almost certainly will not be in on the party. When HISA's racetrack safety program...

The Arkansas-based lawsuit filed six weeks ago that is the most recent among five separate federal complaints attempting to derail the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) via alleged constitutionality claims was broadly rebuffed Monday in separate legal filings by the defendants in the case, who are executives with the HISA Authority and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The plaintiffs, led by Bill Walmsley, president of the Arkansas Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (HBPA), and Jon Moss, the executive director of the Iowa HBPA, had asked a judge in United...