Category: Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA)

Out-of-State Wagering on Lone Star to Suspend July 1

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HISA is scheduled to take effect at the start of next month.

 

Following through on a previously issued memorandum defying compliance with the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, Lone Star Park has been denied approval to export its racing signal out-of-state beginning July 1, Texas Racing Commission executive director Amy Cook confirmed June 15.

HISA is scheduled to take effect at the start of next month, although implementation of medication rules and enforcement will be delayed pending either adoption or rejection of the rules by the Federal Trade Commission after a public comment period.

The Lone Star Park Thoroughbred season concludes July 17.

 

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The Change Ahead: Void Claim Rules Will Soon Become National, Via HISA

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by Natalie Voss

 

On July 1, the first round of new regulations are scheduled to go into effect as a result of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA). HISA will seek to bring about the uniformity in medication, testing, and safety regulation and enforcement which so many in the racing industry have asked for in recent decades.

As the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority fights multiple lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the new organization, it remains to be seen when, whether, and how it will implement new rules. It has been made clear by those working for the Authority so far that it will not be a night-to-day change between June 30 and July 1, 2022, especially since the Anti-Doping and Medication Control Program will not go into effect until Jan. 1, 2023. There will also be a phase-in process for its Racetrack Safety Program, which in many ways will seek to codify best practices suggested by the NTRA’s Safety and Integrity Alliance and the Association of Racing Commissioners International.

Assuming the Authority is able to bring about this change, there are a few jurisdictions and racetracks that will be in for a rude awakening. In this series, we take a look at where American racing stands now with key parts of the new regulations. What do we know about the history behind new rules? How have some states fared after implementing safety rules voluntarily? What has stopped some jurisdictions from adopting these changes on their own? 

 

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Texas Commission Airs HISA Concerns to CEO Lazarus

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Texas Racing Commission outlines broad slate of concerns to HISA’s Lisa Lazarus.

 

Texas Racing Commission members laid out their concerns with the impending July 1 launch of the first round of Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority rules during its regular meeting June 8 in Austin. Those concerns include an anticipated statewide shutdown of pari-mutuel wagering and simulcasting related to the new federal rules.

“Although HISA is understood to have a preemptive effect on the various states, in Texas that effect is significant. In Texas, HISA will kill pari-mutuel onsite wagering and result in a prohibition of simulcast export wagering,” said commission chairman Judge Robert Pate during remarks at the start of the meeting, which was attended by HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus and lead counsel John Roach.

“Wagering on horse racing is a unique regulatory responsibility we have under the Texas Racing Act and Rules of Racing, which is inextricably tied to all functions of the Texas Racing Commission. If the Texas Racing Commission is not involved in every aspect of a horse meet and its races, pari-mutuel wagering and simulcast wagering is against the explicit terms of the Texas Racing Act,” he continued.

 

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OwnerView to host Instructional Webinar on Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority Registration

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OwnerView announced today that it has added a panel to its Virtual Owner Conference series with representatives from the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) to assist owners with the registration process for HISA.

 

The Zoom webinar will be held on Thursday, June 16, at 1 p.m. ET and last about 60 minutes. Participating in the webinar from HISA will be Lisa Lazarus, chief executive officer; Steve Keech, technology director; Ann McGovern, director of Racetrack Safety; and John Roach, general counsel. The session will include time to submit questions to the HISA team.

 

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act, which was signed into law in December 2020, established HISA as an independent agency to draft and enforce uniform safety and integrity rules in Thoroughbred racing in the United States. The bill goes into effect on July 1, and owners are among the list of individuals who must register with HISA as a covered person prior to this date.

 

“The passage of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act was an important step forward for Thoroughbred racing, and this webinar will enable owners to engage directly with HISA to learn about registration and answer any questions they may have,” said Gary Falter, project manager for OwnerView.

 

Interested individuals can sign up for the virtual conference at ownerview.com/event/conference or send an email to Gary Falter, gfalter@jockeyclub.com. The webinar will be recorded and made available on the OwnerView YouTube channel for owners that cannot attend the live session.

 

OwnerView is a joint effort spearheaded by The Jockey Club and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association to encourage ownership of Thoroughbreds and provide accurate information on aspects of ownership such as trainers, public racing syndicates, the process of purchasing and owning a Thoroughbred, racehorse retirement, and owner licensing.

 

The need for a central resource to encourage Thoroughbred ownership was identified in the comprehensive economic study of the sport that was commissioned by The Jockey Club and conducted by McKinsey & Company in 2011. The OwnerView site was launched in May 2012.

Texas Racing Commission Threatens To Shut Down Racing Over HISA Oversight

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by Ray Paulick

 

The Texas Racing Commission has said pari-mutuel wagering will not be conducted at Texas racetracks on live or simulcast wagering if the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority asserts control over regulatory supervision on July 1, 2022, as scheduled.

The Paulick Report obtained a copy of a May 20 letter to HISA chief executive officer Lisa Lazarus from Amy F. Cook, executive director of the Texas Racing Commission, in which Cook asked to be provided “specific dates, races, and horses that the Authority intends to regulate … within the jurisdiction of Texas.”

Cook cited the Texas Racing Act in stating that “no pari-mutuel wagering is permitted for live or simulcast export wagering for races our Commission does not supervise. Accordingly, there will be no such pari-mutuel wagering or simulcast wagering in Texas on those dates which the Authority asserts jurisdiction.”

 

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HISA Finds Partner to Build Enforcement Agency

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Drug Free Sports International will establish testing and enforcement protocols.

 

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority’s board of directors announced May 3 it had secured a contract with an agency to handle the testing, investigative, and enforcement responsibilities for the national regulatory program it is building for horse racing.

Drug Free Sport International was selected to build HISA’s independent Anti-Doping and Medication Control enforcement agency.

Drug Free Sport has existing drug testing and enforcement partnerships with leading sports organizations, including the National Football League, NCAA, National Basketball Association, Ladies Professional Golf Association, PGA Tour, NASCAR, and Major League Baseball. The company will establish the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit, which will be led by a five- member advisory council, to serve as the new ADMC enforcement agency for Thoroughbred racing.

 

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CHRB Unanimously Backs Collecting HISA Fees

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Betting is up marginally in the state and equine fatalities are down.

 

The California Horse Racing Board unanimously approved a motion in a board meeting April 21 to “opt-in” and remit Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority fees upon it receiving the necessary statutory authority.

The board’s actions follow recent similar moves by regulators in Kentucky and Minnesota, CHRB executive director Scott Chaney said. Elsewhere, regulators in New Jersey, Maryland, and Texas chose not to collect HISA assessments, with some citing conflicts with existing state laws.

If regulators decide not to collect and remit HISA assessments, the duty falls to covered racetracks. Federal regulation of the Thoroughbred racing industry under HISA begins July 1.

 

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Texas Racing Commission Warns HISA Regulation Could Force Elimination Of Wagering

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During its regularly-scheduled meeting on Wednesday, April 13, the Texas Racing Commission voted not to pay the $371,377 fee assessed to the state by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, reports Spectrum News 1.

HISA is scheduled to take effect on July 1, 2022; if state regulatory agencies vote not to collect and remit HISA-assessed costs, that duty will fall to the individual racetracks.

Commission chair Robert Pate explained that Texas state law does not allow the commission to pay a federal agency to do its job, and in fact, that doing so could force the commission to disallow wagering on those races.

 

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HISA: Shoeing Rules In Effect July 1 Will Prohibit Traction Devices, Including Toe Grabs

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by Paulick Report Staff

 

Thoroughbred farriers will be restricted by new rules when the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority’s nationwide regulations go into effect on July 1, 2022. The regulations focus primarily on the traction devices farriers will be permitted to apply to Thoroughbred horseshoes, according to the American Farriers Journal.

All rules in the HISA Racetrack Safety Program were approved by the Federal Trade Commission on March 4, 2022.

 

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HISA announces FTC Approval of Additional Rules & Distribution of 2022 Cost Assessments to States

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April 1, 2022 – The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) reached significant milestones this week with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) approving the proposed Enforcement and Methodology Assessment Rules in addition to the distribution of the 2022 cost assessments to state racing commissions. As the July 1, 2022 program effective date for the Racetrack Safety Program approaches, these developments are the latest steps forward in HISA’s mission to make racing safer and protect the integrity of the sport through uniform rules, enforcement mechanisms and accreditation standards.

“These developments bring us closer to fulfilling our mandate to protect the wellbeing of both horse and rider through uniform rules and accreditation standards,” said HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus. “The Racetrack Safety Program will expand veterinary oversight, impose surface maintenance and testing requirements, enhance jockey safety and implement voided claim rules, among other important measures that will go into effect on July 1.”

The Enforcement Rule (8000 Series) describes a range of violations and civil sanctions, establishes procedures for disciplinary and racetrack accreditation hearings, and grants the Authority necessary investigatory powers. Its approval by the FTC indicates that the rules meet the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act’s (the Act) requirement to define violations and provide for adequate due process, including impartial hearing officers or tribunals commensurate with the seriousness of the alleged violation. In developing these rules, the Authority relied to a great extent upon rules governing horseracing as they currently exist in most states.

The annual assessments that state racing commissions are receiving today were determined by the FTC approved Methodology Assessment Rule (8500 Series), which outlines a process designed to ensure fairness and equity across thoroughbred racing jurisdictions. The cost calculations represent each state’s proportionate share of HISA’s 2022 budget as required under the Act. Under the rule, HISA calculated 50% of each state racing commission’s cost according to the total number of starts in covered races and the remaining half based on starts weighted for purses in covered races.

It is HISA’s intention to work with relevant stakeholders on an ongoing basis to evolve and improve the rules as more data become available and as circumstances dictate.