Category: Lisa Lazarus

Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority Establishes Horsemen’s Advisory Group to Expand Ongoing Collaboration

louisianathoroughbred

August 29, 2022 (Lexington, Ky) – Today, as promised in remarks made by HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus during the August 14 Jockey Club Round Table, the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) formally announced its intent to establish a Horsemen’s Advisory Group to provide feedback to its executive team and Standing Committees on the implementation and evolution of HISA’s regulations and protocols. HISA is inviting all horsemen and women who wish to be considered for membership in the Advisory Group to email horsemenadvisory@hisaus.org indicating their interest and qualifications by Friday, September 9, 2022.

“We look forward to building upon our existing efforts to collaborate with participants in all facets of the sport by seeking more targeted input from active horsemen and women. Their hands-on experience will help ensure the practicality and effectiveness of our rules for all racing participants,” said Lazarus. “HISA is proud of and grateful for the unparalleled expertise that has informed the development of our regulations – the first ever national rules to govern our sport. As we continue the implementation phase of our mandate from Congress, HISA will benefit immensely from additional perspectives from the trainers and owners who are on the backside, standing trackside and in the racing office every day.”

HISA’s executive team will select a diverse group of 10-12 horsepersons with input from its Standing Committees and is seeking members who are involved in both small and large racing operations across the country to represent the broad array of viewpoints that make up the American horse racing community. Those interested should expect to participate in monthly meetings with HISA leadership and to serve as individual sounding boards on specific issues on which they may have unique knowledge or insights on a more frequent basis.

“Establishing the Horsemen’s Advisory Group will significantly enhance our regulatory system and allow us to account for the wide range of environments found at tracks across the U.S. as we continue to implement HISA’s safety and integrity programs,” said Ann McGovern, HISA Director of Racetrack Safety.

The Advisory Group’s membership is expected to be announced and hold its first monthly meeting in October.

Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority Submits Proposed Anti-Doping and Medication Control Rules to Federal Trade Commission

louisianathoroughbred

August 18, 2022 (Lexington, Ky) – The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority’s (HISA) Board of Directors yesterday submitted its proposed rules for HISA’s Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Program to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for final approval ahead of the program’s January 1, 2023 implementation date. These rules were developed by the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) in consultation with the HISA ADMC Standing Committee before being presented to the HISA Board for approval. This comes after a public comment period and numerous open discussions and meetings with industry organizations and individuals, as well as the careful consideration of more than 200 comments submitted by racing participants and the general public.

“The comprehensive and uniform rules and regulations outlined in HISA’s ADMC Program will truly level the playing field for racing participants and fans across the country,” said HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus. “The ADMC Program’s standardized implementation of the rules and the consistent enforcement and efficient resolution of rule violations by HIWU will make for a fairer, more transparent sport, and horses will be safer as a result.”

The rules submitted to the FTC include the Equine Anti-Doping and Controlled Medication Protocol, the Prohibited List, Definitions, Arbitration Procedures, Equine Testing and Investigation Standards, and Equine Standards for Laboratories and Accreditation. Additionally, HISA recently made a draft Prohibited Substances List (Technical Document) available for public comment and will continue to solicit stakeholder input before submitting that document to the FTC at a later date.

“These rules and enforcement processes are informed by subject matter experts who understand anti-doping and therapeutic medication control, have been involved in creating and managing equine anti-doping and welfare programs, and have unparalleled experience in testing science and research,” ADMC Committee Chair Adolpho Birch said. “Out-of- competition testing, uniform lab accreditation and results management processes, a robust intelligence and investigations arm, and consistent penalties that are commensurate to potential rule violations are just a few of the components of HISA’s ADMC Program that will change thoroughbred horseracing for the better. Importantly, the rules and processes include and build upon successful state programs, such as the Multiple Medications Violations Schedule.”

The FTC’s approval process includes another public comment period during which industry representatives, horsemen, state regulators and the general public can once again weigh in on the proposed rules and regulations. HIWU will immediately begin working with state racing commissions and others across the industry to undertake a thorough stakeholder education process to ensure a smooth transition to implementation of HISA’s ADMC Program and HIWU’s ensuing enforcement. In the future, HISA and HIWU will also work with the industry to evolve the rules based on their feedback and as new data, science and experience on the ground dictates.

Jonathan Taylor, chair of HIWU’s Advisory Council, said: “These new ADMC regulations, incorporating best practice from current equine anti-doping programs and from the World Anti-Doping Code, and reflecting the extensive and helpful feedback received from stakeholders, promise a new beginning for U.S. Thoroughbred racing. The Advisory Council looks forward to overseeing and supporting HIWU’s efforts to implement and enforce these new regulations robustly, consistently, and fairly across the whole of the sport.”

HISA Registration Webinar Available on YouTube

louisianathoroughbred

HISA registration webinar now available on OwnerView YouTube page.

  • Thoroughbred Owner Conference Press Release

 

Please be advised that OwnerView’s webinar on registration with the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA), held Thursday, June 16, as part of the virtual Thoroughbred Owner Conference series, is now available for viewing on OwnerView’s YouTube page at bit.ly/ownerviewpage. The webinar was moderated by TVG Analyst Caton Bredar and included Lisa Lazarus, chief executive officer of HISA, and Steve Keech, technology director for HISA.

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.

HISA Clarifies ‘Search & Seizure’ Rule On Private Farms

louisianathoroughbred

by Chelsea Hackbarth

 

During a Thursday webinar hosted by the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority CEO Lisa Lazarus issued clarifications about the much-maligned “search and seizure” rule.

Listed as Regulation 5830 (B), which has not yet been approved by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)  and is still open for public comment, the rule states:

“The Agency may enter facilities, offices, stables, barns, or any other premises related to Covered Horses which are owned, controlled, or occupied by Covered Person(s) and: (1) inspect and search the premises including any books, records or property, and to take possession or a sample of any item or material believed to be, or that may lead to, evidence directly or indirectly of a violation of the Protocol; (2) search any Covered Person or Covered Horse on the premises; (3) access electronically stored data, including emails, computers, and mobile phones and devices without altering such data or device(s) other than to forward, back up, copy or make a mirror image of such data or device(s); (4) conduct identification and medication checks on any Covered Horse; (5) inspect and take copies of any records the Covered Person is required to keep under the Protocol; (6) examine any Covered Horse under the care of a Covered Person and take Samples from the Covered Horse for analysis.”

 

Read Paulick Report Article

Texas Commission Airs HISA Concerns to CEO Lazarus

louisianathoroughbred

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.

 

Read BloodHorse Article

Texas Racing Commission Threatens To Shut Down Racing Over HISA Oversight

louisianathoroughbred

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.”

 

Read Paulick Report Article

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

louisianathoroughbred

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.