Ed Martin

For well over a year, we have been told that the HISA Act was legally bulletproof and within the parameters of the US Constitution. According to a unanimous decision of a three judge panel from both political parties issued last week, such assertions may not be so. The ARCI has not taken sides in this legal dispute, although some of our member agencies have as there are serious issues involving States rights, taxation without representation and commandeering that are at stake. The final outcome of the legal process may not...

By Scott Finley After an opening day of casino and conventional gaming panels, the focus of Wednesday sessions was on developments in racing, including a review of the newly launched Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act and a thoughtful panel on how fixed-odds betting can positively impact the American horseracing industry. Lisa Lazarus, newly appointed CEO of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) spoke of the challenges her organization has faced in launching the initial phase of the Federal Statute that created HISA. Of the 21 states that host live...

A year and a half after being signed into law, the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) is expected to kick into action Friday, meaning a new uniform set of medication rules and safety standards that everyone can abide by--that, at least, was the plan. The execution has somewhat thrown those intentions to the wind in the near term, with a piecemeal approach to implementation that has seen the anti-doping and medication control arm of the program pushed back to early next year, and several other features of the law--such...

LEXINGTON, KY--The Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI) announced the official launch of the Sports Betting Regulators Association (SBRA) during the closing session of the group's 88th Annual Conference on Safe Horses and Honest Sport. ARCI president and CEO Ed Martin explained that the formation of the SBRA has been in the works for several years and was organized to meet a growing need to support government agencies assigned with the responsibility of regulating sports betting within their jurisdiction. Sports betting in America continues to expand and has now been...

   LEXINGTON, KY - The Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI) hosted the first day of their 88th annual conference on Safe Horses and Honest Sport on Monday, April 11 at the Griffin Gate Marriott in Lexington. The three-day event is held in conjunction with the meetings of The National Racing Compact and The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority. ARCI President Ed Martin opened the first session, emphasizing that racing currently sits at a crossroads in the sport's history with the impending implantation of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act....

There's good news and bad news coming. The good news is that the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act solves the persistent problem of inadequate funding to police the sport. The bad news is that decisions coming soon by the HISA Board may jeopardize millions of dollars of existing public support now allocated for this function. Collectively the U.S. states invest over $100 million to regulate racing and wagering. That money comes in large part from taxes generated by the industry and fans. Commissions fight every year to ensure that adequate...

The Association of Racing Commissioners International (RCI) is an umbrella organization of the official governing rule-making bodies for professional horse racing and for decades, has helped establish international standards for racing regulation, medication policy and drug testing labs, among other responsibilities. The organization's president Ed Martin issued a statement on the positive betamethasone test returned on GI Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit (Protonico) and the comments made by his trainer Bob Baffert. The statement, in its entirety, reads as follows: As I watched Bob Baffert denying any knowledge of how...

The Association of Racing Commissioners International, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear and the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission all released statements Monday reflecting on the passing of GI Kentucky Derby-winning trainer John Ward. "On behalf of the ARCI and John's many friends in the regulatory network, permit me to express our immense sadness and condolences to Donna and John's family upon learning the news of John's passing," said ARCI President Ed Martin. "John Ward was a gentle giant in horse racing and was committed to our horses, everyone who cares for them,...

Jockeys will be prohibited from using the riding crop more than two consecutive times before being required to wait three full strides in order to give the horse a chance to respond under an expanded Model crop Rule adopted by the Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI) last week. The modified rule tightens restrictions already in place but clearly says that any use of the crop to "urge" the horse must be limited. The new RCI Model Rule continues to rely upon the judgement of the Stewards as to when...

Three versions of proposed federal legislation known as the Horseracing Integrity Act have been introduced in the United States Congress over the past five years, and only twice has the bill advanced as far as the subcommittee hearing level, like it did last Tuesday. Whether you're for or against HB 1754, which would mandate an independent anti-doping and medication control program in our sport, if you're called as a witness, it's crucial to tailor your arguments as concisely as possible. That's because legislators hearing testimony in the Subcommittee on Consumer...

Dr. George Maylin, the director of the New York Equine Drug Testing Programs, has confirmed the presence of IOX-2, a small molecule synthetic doping agent and a threat to both human and equine sport, in a pair of Standardbred horses racing at Yonkers Raceway. IOX-2 is a blood and gene doping agent that Dr. Maylin warned attendees about at the annual ARCI conference in Arcadia, California. The New York horseracing lab is believed to be the first--either in horse racing or the worldwide WADA network of testing labs--to screen for...