Iowa HBPA

On Nov. 9 last year, veteran trainer Steve Klesaris shipped his mare She's Awesome from Delaware Park to Aqueduct to compete in the second race. When she arrived, the receiving barns were full, and so, She's Awesome (Flatter) was sent instead to the track's auxiliary stabling, used as an overflow. The auxiliary barn is adjacent to staff bathrooms, with a lot of foot traffic through it, said Klesaris. It's also used to stable ponies, he added. She's Awesome won that day. But a post-race test came up positive for the...

For the second time in five days-and for the seventh time in three years-individuals or entities under the control of the Horseracing and Safety Integrity Act (HISA) have filed a lawsuit in a federal court alleging that the law and its enforcement are unconstitutional. This latest legal action took the form of a July 29 complaint in United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa (Central Division) filed by Thoroughbred owner Joseph A. Kelly and owner/trainer Douglas L. Anderson against the HISA Authority, the Federal Trade Commission, and...

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]),...

Ten days after a federal judge denied a motion for a preliminary injunction that sought to halt the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) and its Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) program, the plaintiffs in the case, who are representatives of the Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (HBPA) chapters in Arkansas and Iowa, appealed that denial to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Led by Bill Walmsley, the president of the Arkansas HBPA, and Jon Moss, the executive director of the Iowa HBPA, the July 21...

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...

Bill Walmsley, Jon Moss, and the Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association for Iowa filed suit against the Federal Trade Commission to "stop the illegally constituted Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA)" on Thursday, according to a press release from the National HBPA. The case, Bill Walmsley, et. al. v. Federal Trade Commission, was filed in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas. "Congress cannot outsource regulatory authority to a private organization--unaccountable to the American people--that has the power to create rules, levy fines, and adjudicate disputes," said...

As Prairie Meadows Racetrack opens its doors for the 2020 season Friday, the Iowa Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association is offering a pair of programs designed to assist its members who might be feeling a financial pinch as a result of the delays caused by the coronavirus. Trainers may apply for $100 in assistance per Thoroughbred racehorse stabled at the Altoona track under the COVID-19 Horsemen's Assistance Program. The deadline to apply for the program is 3 p.m. CT Tuesday, June 30. The Iowa HBPA has also created the COVID-19...

With the planned May 1 opening of their mixed Thorougbred/Quarter Horse meeting indefinitely delayed, officials at Prairie Meadows Racetrack in Altoona, Iowa, announced Thursday that layoffs for some 1,130 of its workers began this week as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. "Our focus is to reopen as quickly and as safely as possible," said Gary Palmer, President and CEO of Prairie Meadows.  "The health and well-being of our employees, our guests, the horsemen, and our community remain our utmost priorities as we look to resume our casino and...

The early race card at Santa Anita had a decidedly Midwest flair Saturday as the winners of the first three races of the day were bred by Missouri-resident Allen Poindexter and two of the three winners were Iowa-breds. The streak began with 15-1 shot Posit (Cairo Prince)'s half-length win in an optional claimer; continued with the debut victory of OBS June topper Clivetty (Into Mischief) (video) and concluded with 'TDN Rising Star' Auberge (Palace)'s 2 1/4-length allowance win (video). "I wasn't sure about Posit in the first, but I thought...