HISA

It has been two years since the launch of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act's (HISA) anti-doping and medication control program. During that time, one of the struggles federal officials have been open about is getting all the laboratories onto the same page in terms of drug-testing approaches and methodologies, after decades of different state commissions requiring of their contracted laboratories a range of standards. In this regard, U.S. horse racing is years behind its counterparts in human athletics, which seriously grappled with the same issues around the turn of...

Junior Alvarado was granted a stay of suspension on Tuesday while the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) begins the process for hearing his newly-lodged appeal for allegedly using his whip two times above the six-strike limit when winning the GI Kentucky Derby aboard Sovereignty (Into Mischief) May 3. Alvarado is facing a fine of $62,000 and a two-day suspension if the infraction is upheld. The rule infraction is HISA-based, but the Churchill Downs stewards were in charge of interpreting and reporting purported violations of it. The severity of the...

The 2025 First Quarter Metrics Report, released Tuesday by HISA, shows racing-related fatalities largely on par with previous averages. The first quarter, which runs from Jan. 1-March 31, saw racetracks operating under HISA's umbrella report 0.85 racing-related fatalities per 1,000 starts, consistent with the 0.84 fatalities reported through the same period last year. Additionally, this first quarter's 0.85 represents a 37% decrease compared to the 1.35 fatalities per 1,000 starts from two years ago through the same time frame. This also is 5.6% lower than the aggregate racing-related fatality rate...

BALTIMORE, MD -- In the days leading up to the 150th Preakness, a lot had been made of the one horse that wouldn't make it into Saturday's lineup at Pimlico--Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty (Into Mischief). However, those that have been entered in the final renewal of the Classic race before Old Hiltop faces the demolition man are certainly no slouches. Leading the fray, Journalism (Curlin) returns off a runner-up finish in the Run for the Roses. Lest some may have forgotten, however unlikely, he went off post-time favorite for the...

Rep. Clay Higgins (LA-03), Rep. Don Davis (NC-01), and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) introduced the Racehorse Health and Safety Act (RHSA) in the U.S. House (HR 3378) and Senate Wednesday, which they call "a bipartisan, bicameral effort to deliver a constitutional solution to safety regulation in the horse racing industry," according to a press release issued Thursday. The release says the legislation is backed by industry organizations representing tens of thousands of horsemen and is endorsed by the National Horsemen's Benevolent & Protective Association (HBPA), the United States Trotting Association...

Every week, the TDN posts a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA)-related rulings from around the country. The following rulings were reported on HISA's "rulings" portal and through the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU)'s "pending" and "resolved" cases portals. Resolved ADMC Violations Date: 05/13/2025 Licensee: Abel Ramirez-Rodriguez, trainer Penalty: Disqualification of Covered Horse's Race results, including forfeiture of all purses and other compensation, prizes, trophies, points, and rankings and repayment or surrender (as applicable); a fine of $500; imposition of 1.5 Penalty Points. Admission. Explainer:...

Partnering once again with Equine MediRecord (EMR) and Business Infusions (BI), 1/ST will utilize their services to digitize equine welfare protocols for Preakness 150 and will have EMR representatives on site to ease the learning process, it was revealed in a press release from the group Monday afternoon. The added measure aims to enhance the equine health and safety protocols that will be in place for the contest May 17. The platform allows for the full veterinary history of the horse to be collected digitally and securely stored, and will...

Jockey Junior Alvarado has been fined $62,000 and suspended two Kentucky racing days after using the whip two more times than is permitted when winning the GI Kentucky Derby aboard Sovereignty, according to a Kentucky stewards' ruling Friday. Under Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) rules, jockeys can use the crop no more than six times during a race. The typical penalty for going one to three strikes over the limit is 10% of the jockey's earnings or a $250 fine, whichever is bigger. Alvarado's share of the Derby purse...

An 81-year-old Penn National-based veterinarian charged in February by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) with allegedly intentional, conspirational and repeated violations of intra-articular injection rules designed to safeguard the health of horses has consented to an "agreed order" of a lifetime ban of practicing medicine on Thoroughbreds covered by HISA. Allen Post Bonnell, a veterinarian who has been practicing for 45 years, signed the consent order May 7, according to documentation provided by HISA. Beyond his work as a veterinarian, Bonnell is barred from "participating in any activity"...

The stewards at Charles Town Races on Wednesday issued a ruling that will not impose penalties against the licensure of trainer Curtis Bass after deeming that a "trace level" of a cocaine metabolite detected in a $5,000 claiming mare who won Apr. 10 was the result of "inadvertent exposure" to that drug. It's the second time in eight months that the Charles Town stewards have made that type of  determination on a cocaine positive, disqualifying the winning horse but not penalizing the trainer. Although West Virginia's Thoroughbred medication testing and...

Every week, the TDN posts a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA)-related rulings from around the country. The following rulings were reported on HISA's "rulings" portal and through the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU)'s "pending" and "resolved" cases portals.   Resolved ADMC Violations Date: 05/07/2025 Licensee: Javier Moran, trainer Penalty: 30-day period of Ineligibility for Covered Person, beginning on May 8, 2025; Disqualification of Covered Horses' Race results, including forfeiture of all purses and other compensation, prizes, trophies, points, and rankings and repayment or surrender...

The TDN article "In Lab Variability, Horse Racing Playing Catchup With Human Sports" raises some important issues and, although its consideration of them is fair, it only does this from a USA perspective. While this is understandable, it is also relevant to look at the achievements made in this space internationally, much of which has been pioneered by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA), which is the global leader for Thoroughbred racing. Firstly, I want to congratulate HISA/HIWU on their significant progress in enhancing testing standards in racing laboratories...