Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority

InCompass Solutions has launched EquiTAPS, a free service that enables users to submit veterinary treatment and procedure records to racing authorities for horses in their care and to give authorized parties in other jurisdictions access to those records. EquiTAPS satisfies reporting requirements as set forth by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) and will accept records submitted by covered persons as defined by HISA, including trainers and veterinarians. When required by HISA's regulations, treatment and procedure information entered into EquiTAPS will be automatically forwarded to HISA. "We are excited...

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. CALIFORNIA Track: Los Alamitos Date: 07/01/2022 Licensee: Diego Herrera, jockey Penalty: $1,000 fine Violation: Excessive use of the whip Explainer: Jockey Diego Herrera is fined $1,000.00 for violation of California Horse Racing Board rule #1688(b)(8)(d) (Use of Riding Crop - more than...

Four U.S. senators, Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Joni Ernst (R-IA) and John Kennedy (R-LA), sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission and Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority Monday asking for clarification and explanation about HISA's ability to meet its upcoming July 1 implementation deadlines for the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA). "The Authority publicly stated in a December 2021 press release that it will not implement the Anti-Doping and Medication Control program by the statutory deadline of July 1, 2022," the letter said. "This deadline is...

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority issued an updated list of enforcement deadlines for its rules and registration requirements Thursday. The required horseshoes and riding crop specifications will not be enforced until Aug. 1, a month later than previously announced, in order to ensure an adequate supply of both. Also delayed is the monitoring of racehorse vaccinations. The new vaccinations will be required by Jan. 1, 2023 to allow horses to be vaccinated with previously unrequired vaccines at times that do not interfere with training and racing schedules. Thursday's statement...

With the July 1 implementation date for the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act rapidly approaching, there has been a feverish push to get tens of thousands of horsemen and horses registered in time as well as an education effort to get the industry's stakeholders up to speed on the Act's myriad rules and regulations. Tuesday, Lisa Lazarus, the CEO of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority--the governing body tasked with implementing HISA--joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland as the Green Group Guest of the Week to provide updates...

This last week has witnessed a flurry of developments and information drops as the countdown to July 1--the official take-off for the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA)--continues apace. Just last Friday, for example, HISA representatives fielded questions in an online industry forum, while the law's draft Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) rules have been issued for public comment. HISA's official website can be found here, while the online registration portal can be found here. Aside from providing a cheat sheet to help guide industry participants through the launch, TDN...

Dear Thoroughbred racing community stakeholder, We appreciate your assistance in spreading the word on the need to register with HISA before the Racetrack Safety Program takes effect on July 1, 2022. It has come to our attention that some users have recently experienced technical difficulties with the HISA registration platform. The primary issue has been with the two-factor authentication system that relied on text messaging, a standard measure to ensure an additional layer of protection. Our technology team has learned that, despite the success of earlier tests, HISA's text message...

Last week, an important piece of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) puzzle was slotted into place when the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority's board of directors announced that Drug Free Sport International (DFSI) had been selected as the enforcement agency for the Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) arm of the program. In part one of this two-part Q&A, HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus discussed the reasons behind DFSI's selection, details about the newly announced Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) and broad updates on the Anti-Doping and Medication Control...

Edited Press Release The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA)'s Board of Directors has elected Dr. Noah Cohen, VMD, MPH, PhD, DACVIM-LA, to fulfill the remainder of Dr. Paul Lunn's term on the Racetrack Safety Standing Committee following Dr. Lunn's return to England. Dr. Cohen is a University Distinguished Professor and the Patsy Link Chair in Equine Research at Texas A&M University's College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and has dedicated his entire career to equine health and safety, serving as an equine veterinary practitioner before entering academia. Among...

Last month, the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) announced that in Dr. Tessa Muir, it had plucked from foreign shores a new hire to head its equine program at a time when the agency plays an integral role in implementing the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA), overhauling the industry's governing status quo. Before Muir joined the USADA staff roster, she had hopscotched her way up the industry ladder, from exercise rider to private veterinarian to head of the British Horseracing Authority (BHA)'s anti-doping program between 2013 and 2019. Her...

We recently ran part one of our story on the challenges facing HISA. Today, we deal with lawsuits, adjudication, and more. This time next year, the machinery of horse racing in the U.S. may be almost a month into a radical system overhaul. But with scant few calendar pages between now and then, what do we know about how the cogs, wheels, and pulleys of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) will work together? To find out, the TDN reached out to Charles Scheeler, chair of the HISA board...

Part One of a Two-Part Series If the letter of the law is any reliable prognosticator, this time next year the United States horse racing industry will already be nearly a month into what promises to be a major realignment of the planets. With the official enactment of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) on the first of July, 2022, racing jurisdictions North and South, East and West will be bound by the same medication standards, safety rules, and enforcement mechanisms--a hallelujah for many who have long championed the...