horse racing safety

Edited Press Release Santa Anita Park has opened its all-new synthetic Tapeta inner training track manufactured by Maryland-based Tapeta Footings, Inc., effective Saturday morning. Following the Breeders' Cup, the 'Great Race Place' embarked upon an $8 million project to provide horsemen with a state-of-the-art all-weather surface that will complement its one-mile natural dirt main track and serve as a safe and viable component in the conditioning of Thoroughbreds on a year 'round basis. "At Tapeta, our aim is to maintain the surface so that we have a soft cushion below and...

HISA has introduced U.S. Thoroughbred racing's first-ever recommended national concussion protocol for jockeys, the entity said in a release Thursday morning. Under HISA's Racetrack Safety rules, racetracks are required to implement a concussion protocol for jockeys. HISA's recommended protocol would become mandatory for all racetracks under their jurisdiction, when and if, the FTC approves the proposed changes, which were submitted last month. HISA's national concussion protocol was developed in consultation with leading experts to protect the health and safety of jockeys across the country and brings racing in line with...

Leroy Gessmann, who served as president of the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (HBPA) from 2015 to 2021 and currently works as the Arizona HBPA's executive director, told commissioners at the Arizona Racing Commission (AZRC) meeting Thursday that regardless of the decision gets handed down by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, both the HBPA and its opponents in a 2 1/2-year-old lawsuit to nullify the Horseracing and Safety Integrity Act (HISA) agree that the nation's highest court will eventually have to be called upon...

Beth Bungert has been named by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission to the new position of safety steward. The position was created in June to ensure compliance of both Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) and KHRC standards and rules at the state's licensed Thoroughbred racetracks and training centers. As safety steward, Bungert will monitor regulatory and safety compliance and ensure that information is being shared with all parties. In her 20-year career in racing, Bungert has worked as a groom, exercise rider, veterinary assistant, assistant trainer, racing official and...

Editor's Note: This week, we start a series in the TDN where we attempt to clarify a HISA regulation that has been the subject of confusion in the early days of the rollout. This week, we discuss the test barn, where we have received letters to the editor saying that sample collection personnel may not be practicing proper hygiene, nor wearing gloves. What do the rules say, and what should you do if you observe this? HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus answers us below. Sample collection procedure requirements in the test...

Dr. Michael Hardy has been hired as its next Executive Director of the Racing Medication & Testing Consortium. In his new role, Dr. Hardy will be responsible for the management of the RMTC's Laboratory Accreditation and External Quality Assurance Program in conjunction with the new Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit. He will also be charged with the administration of the RMTC's Scientific Advisory Committee process, the monitoring of emerging threats to the integrity of racing and the health and welfare of racehorses, administrative oversight of RMTC-funded research projects, and coordinating...

Santa Anita, which concluded its 16-day Autumn Meet Oct. 25 with 1,106 horses racing and 51,200 training sessions since Sept. 5., when the Del Mar Summer Meet was winding down, had no racing or training fatalities during that time. The meet was pushed back due to the Bobcat Fire in the neighboring San Gabriel Mountains and the track did not host live racing until Sept. 25. The main dirt track at the Arcadia oval has not had a single racing fatality in 2020, including during the Winter/Spring Meet which began...

It's no secret that racing had a tough year in 2019. We asked a cross-section of participants what their number one goal is to make racing better in 2020. (Want to participate? Email suefinley@thetdn.com) BILL THOMASON, PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, KEENELAND My goal for the New Year is simple in theory: to make racing a safer sport. In practice, however, meeting this goal requires unprecedented cooperation from various industry factions to adopt enhanced safety and integrity standards uniformly across all 38 racing jurisdictions.　It also means developing a true culture...