University of Arizona Global Symposium

It's understandable if you're not exactly a fan of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA). Since its inception there have been many bumps along the road. They didn't think things through when it comes to how they would handle drug positives and provisional suspensions, ignoring how likely it is that the positives were not the case of trainers trying to cheat but of environmental contamination. They went after some trainers who got positives but clearly weren't cheating. Some of the cases were heartbreaking. In October of 2023, colleague T.D....

Registration is now open for the University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program (RTIP)'s 50th Global Symposium on Racing, the world's largest racing conference, scheduled for Dec. 9-11 at the Loews Ventana Canyon Resort near Tucson, Arizona. A full agenda of topics and speakers will be released later this summer. To register for the symposium, get host hotel information, or to explore sponsorship opportunities, visit racingsymposium.com.

A panel about racetrack closures in the prime afternoon time slot on the first day of Tuesday's Global Symposium on Racing hosted by the University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program (RTIP) in Tucson had the potential to be a somber and eulogistic affair, but it did yield some interesting back-and-forth when the discussion turned to how the industry might best stem the tide of Thoroughbred venues going dark for good. The topic "Land For Sale. How Will Race Track Closures Impact the Industry's Long-Term Sustainability?" elicited some of the...

A month ago, the Thoroughbred Idea Foundation (TIF), a think tank that uses independent research to try and drive changes in the sport, brought to light an example of what it said was brazen quinella pari-mutuel pool manipulation at Gulfstream Park. The scheme was apparently designed to jack up the odds the manipulator would receive on winning bets placed with non-pari-mutuel offshore bookies that paid on-track prices. On Wednesday, Pat Cummings, the TIF's executive director, told an audience at the Global Symposium on Racing hosted by the University of Arizona...

A panel of sportsbook operators was decidedly bullish on the near-future prospect of fixed-odds horse race wagering during a discussion titled "Integrating Horse Racing into the U.S. Sports Betting Environment" during Tuesday's Global Symposium on Racing hosted by the University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program in Tucson. But even though they acknowledged a transition from pari-mutuels would likely take several years and that fixed odds and pari-mutuels could coexist in some hybrid future form, now is the time to start taking baby steps in that direction, largely because America's...

It might seem odd that during a Tuesday panel discussion titled "Capitalizing on Racing's Global Footprint," one presenter at the 2022 Symposium on Racing hosted by the University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program insisted that localism trumps globalism when you're trying to market the sport worldwide. Yet Simon Fraser, the senior vice president in charge OF international simulcast signal distribution for 1/ST Content, made his case effectively by drawing upon his experiences in managing the content rights, data, odds and signals on behalf of a broad portfolio of global...

Lisa Lazarus, the chief executive officer for the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA), on Tuesday made an appeal for sport-wide unity with United States racing on the cusp of a Jan. 1 roll-out of HISA's Anti-Doping and Medication Control rules. "I want you to think about what this sort of change is going to mean for the industry," Lazarus said. "It's going to look and feel different, and it's going to allow us to say to those that are our detractors, to those that doubt horse racing is clean,...

John Herbuveaux and Daryl E. Parker were recognized as the 2021 Pete Pedersen Award by the Racing Officials Accreditation Program (ROAP) at the University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program's Global Symposium on Racing and Gaming Awards Luncheon in Tucson, Arizona Tuesday. The award is presented to stewards who have demonstrated professional excellence, integrity, and benevolent consideration in the performance of their duties. Contributions of time and expertise to the horse racing industry on the local and national levels are also significant factors in the selection of Pedersen award winners....

The Racing Officials Accreditation Program's (ROAP) board of directors elected its 2022-2023 officers during its Dec. 6 board meeting, held at the Global Symposium on Racing in Tucson, Arizona. Dr. Jennifer Durenberger, The Jockey Club Steward for NYRA, was elected ROAP chairperson; Frank Lamb, a ROAP-accredited steward was elected ROAP vice chairperson; Wendy Davis, former director at the University of Arizona RTIP was re-elected ROAP secretary; and Kristin Werner, senior counsel at The Jockey Club, was re-elected ROAP treasurer. "I am thrilled to take the reins of this organization at...

Over the course of three panel sessions Tuesday during the latest Race Track Industry Symposium (RTIP) at Tucson, Arizona, more flesh was publicly added to the bones of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA). Nevertheless, overall specifics were pretty light on the ground--frustratingly so, for many--with an overarching message that the various medication and safety programs are very much a work in progress. Looming over proceedings was yesterday's news that Kentucky Derby winner, Medina Spirit (Protonico), suffered an apparent sudden cardiac death after a scheduled workout at Santa Anita....

During the Turf Publicists of America award luncheon at the Global Symposium Tuesday, Dave Zenner and Tom LaMarra were re-elected as secretary-treasurer and vice-president, respectively, and Ryan Martin was elected as vice-president; his first time on the board. Dave Zenner is a freelance publicist, a racing official at Hawthorne, and was the stakes coordinator at Arlington Park. Tom LaMarra holds a diverse set of positions including Communications Director for the Maryland Thoroughbred Horseman's Association, and Coordinator for the Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred Championships. NYRA's Ryan Martin is a racing communications specialist. The...

Edited Press Release New research findings on contest player habits, case studies on the impact of contests at several racetracks, including Kentucky Downs and Hawthorne Race Course, and a perspective from a longtime contest player highlight the upcoming National Horseplayers Championship (NHC) Contest Workshop this coming Monday, Dec. 6. The workshop, which will be held in the Catalina Ballroom - Salon L, will begin at 3:00 p.m. MST, and is part of the 47th annual University of Arizona Global Symposium on Racing. Any registered symposium attendee will receive a $500...