Ben Mosier

Edited Press Release The Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit (HIWU) has named Janelle L. Winston as the successor to general counsel Michelle Pujals who has retired from the post, the organization said via a press release on Wednesday. Pujals worked for HIWU for four years after spending two decades with the NBA's legal department, where she oversaw the development and administration of anti-drug programs for NBA players, coaches, and trainers. She was a member of the NBA/National Basketball Players Association Prohibited Substances Committee and the NBA Crisis Management Team. "Michelle...

With a view to pulling the veil back on the hows and whys of their operations, a representative of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) Authority or the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) will every week answer a question of industry importance posed by the TDN. If you have any questions you'd like to ask HISA or HIWU, please feel free to send them over to us at the following email address: danross@thetdn.com   Q: A trainer (who asked not to be publicly named) has contacted the TDN...

The Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit has released its 2025 Annual Report. Available here, the report details HIWU's organization-wide activities as the independent enforcement agency of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority's (HISA) Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Program. The report provides statistics on testing, results management, the adjudication of cases, investigations, and educational efforts and summarizes new procedures, programs, and technologies that were incorporated last year to further enhance the ADMC Program. "HIWU's 2025 Annual Report reflects our team's continued success in administering HISA's ADMC Program," said Ben Mosier,...

A new minimum reporting level (MRL) for the banned substance metformin has been proposed by HISA's Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Committee, according to a HISA release Monday. The proposed MRL is 4.0 nanograms per milliliter in blood and is based on recommendations received at HISA and HIWU's request from the Racing Medication & Testing Consortium's (RMTC) Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC). The modification will be circulated for public comment in the coming days. Following a series of positive test results for metformin and what Monday's HISA release called, "intelligence received...

The eighth installment in the 2025 OwnerView webinar series was held Oct. 14 and covered how trainers are adjusting to new Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit (HIWU) rules, the conference series said via a Thursday press release. Panelists included Ben Mosier, executive director of HIWU; Dr. Michael Hardy, the acting chief of science with HIWU; and trainers Mark Casse, Kelsey Danner and Ron Moquett. Specific topics included implementation and how HIWU has adjusted its ADMC program rules based on feedback from horsemen. The event, hosted by The Jockey Club of...

Dr. Mary Scollay has retired from her full-time duties as the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit's chief of science, effective immediately, HIWU announced Tuesday. While Scollay will continue to serve as a consultant to HIWU, Dr. Michael Hardy has assumed the position of acting chief of science. "Dr. Scollay was integral to the creation of HIWU and the launch and enforcement of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority's Anti-Doping and Medication Control Program," said Ben Mosier, executive director of HIWU. "In the three-plus years since our first introduction at Turfway...

HISA will host an upcoming virtual Town Hall on Thursday, Apr. 24, from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. ET, the regulator said via a press release on Wednesday. The agenda includes a transparent conversation about financial processes, including budgeting, fee assessments and the cost assessment methodology rule, and how they are using those funds to advance safety and integrity across the sport. Attendees can submit questions in advance through the registration link below or live in the chat box during the Town Hall. Speakers Include: Lisa Lazarus, HISA Chief Executive Officer...

Representatives from the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) and the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) hosted a Town Hall Friday to dig down into the information issued in their recent annual reports and fatality metrics. One aim of the town hall, said HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus, was to publicly "look under the hood" of the fatality numbers to better understand how they're compiled. "How do we collect these metrics? What does the process look like? Why are we very confident that they are accurate?" said Lazarus. As much...

A joint HISA and HIWU virtual Town Hall is scheduled for Friday, April 11 from 1:00-2:00 p.m. ET, the pair of organizations said in a release on Wednesday afternoon. Leadership will discuss and answer questions regarding the HISA 2024 Annual Metrics Report and the HIWU 2024 Annual Report. Attendees are welcome to submit questions about the annual reports in advance or live during the event.   Speakers include: Lisa Lazarus, HISA CEO Anjali Salooja, HISA Director of Operations & Compliance Jennifer Durenberger, HISA Director of Equine Safety & Welfare Ben...

Edited Press Release The Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit (HIWU) announced today the release of its 2024 Annual Report. The full report is available here. The Annual Report details HIWU's organization-wide activities as the independent enforcement agency of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority's (HISA) Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Program. Among the highlights are statistics on testing, results management, the adjudication of cases, investigations, and educational efforts. The 2024 Annual Report introduces expanded testing statistics by state and racetrack, including the number of samples collected for each test type....

Edited Press Release The Pennsylvania Equine Toxicology and Research Laboratory (PETRL), a Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Program laboratory, has been directed to modify its instrumentation and methodology for TCO2 testing to mass spectrometry so that it is consistent with the Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit's three other Program laboratories, HIWU announced Wednesday. PETRL has already transitioned to this methodology, which is also independently endorsed by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities. HIWU began its review of PETRL's procedures in response to a disproportionately...

The Racetrack Medication and Testing Consortium (RMTC) has afforded the University of Kentucky's Equine Analytical Chemistry Lab (EACL) and the University of Illinois Chicago's (UIC) Analytical Forensic Toxicology Laboratory additional time in their efforts to seek reaccreditation from the organization. News of the UIC Lab losing its RMTC accreditation broke in early September. The facility was initially issued a 60-day accreditation suspension period. According to RMTC executive director Michael Hardy, the RMTC's executive committee approved an additional 60-day extension to the laboratory's suspension "to provide them ample opportunity to fully...