HISA

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's (HIWU) "pending" and "resolved" cases portals. Resolved ADMC Violations Date: 04/08/2025 Licensee: Cathal Lynch, trainer Penalty: 7-day period of Ineligibility for Covered Person, beginning on April 9, 2025; 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...

With the Sunday conclusion to Santa Anita's Classic Meet, the 2024-25 season enjoyed significant gains in handle, attendance, field size, and safety, the track announced Monday morning. The all-source handle topped $510-million with players from around the world responding favorably to the modifications to the wagering menu. The handle on just Santa Anita's races increased five per cent from the last Classic Meet. Opening day Dec. 26 brought the third largest opening day handle in the venue's 90-year history, and the final three-day weekend claimed more than $40.6-million in wagers...

Racing industry participants are invited to the latest Speaker Series, a popular event hosted by the Thoroughbred Club of America (TCA) and which will feature HISA's CEO Lisa Lazarus as the guest after a day at the races at Keeneland. Lazarus will give a presentation discussing the first years of HISA and how to navigate the coming years. Scott Hazelton will moderate a panel discussion, which will include Dale Romans, Steve Asmussen, Elliot Walden, Dr. Stuart Brown, and possibly others, including Mark Casse. A question and answer session will follow....

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....

A judge in Louisiana has dismissed Jonathan Wong's complaint against the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) in the District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, Lafayette Division, ruling that the state does not have jurisdiction over HISA, according to Brent Malmstrom, one of Wong's owners. The case, which stemmed from a June, 2023 Metformin positive, saw Wong receive a two-year suspension and spurred his move to Louisiana, where the Act is not in effect. In the complaint filed Tuesday, Wong asserted that...

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's (HIWU) "pending" and "resolved" cases portals. Resolved ADMC Violations Date: 03/25/2025 Licensee: Collin Maragh, trainer Penalty: 7-day period of Ineligibility for Covered Person, beginning on Mar. 26, 2025; Disqualification of Covered Horse's Race results, including forfeiture of all purses and other compensation, prizes, trophies, points, and rankings and repayment or surrender...

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's (HIWU) "pending" and "resolved" cases portals. Resolved ADMC Violations Date: 03/19/2025 Licensee: Curt Ferguson, trainer Penalty: 7-day period of Ineligibility for Covered Person, beginning on Mar. 20, 2025; Disqualification of Covered Horse's Race results, including forfeiture of all purses and other compensation, prizes, trophies, points, and rankings and repayment or surrender...

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) has released its annual metrics report for 2024, which shows that tracks regulated by HISA are significantly safer than those that are not. At the 47 racetracks operating under HISA's ADMC Program and Racetrack Safety Program, the combined rate of fatalities was .90 per 1,000 starts. At racetracks that are not covered by HISA, the fatality rate was 1.76 per 1,000 starts, almost double the number for the HISA tracks. The new was released just days after the Jockey Club released its numbers...

That the figures recently released by the Jockey Club from its Equine Injury Database showed another significant drop in the number of fatalities was good news, but hardly surprising news. The numbers seem to get better every year. But dig deeper into the data presented by the Jockey Club and there is a number that is quite surprising and encouraging. In 2024, dirt tracks were almost as safe as synthetic tracks. There were 1.18 fatalities per 1,000 starts on the dirt, which came very close to the number in the...

Jeff Novitsky, currently the senior vice president, anti-doping compliance, for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), has been reappointed to the Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Committee of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority. Prior to joining UFC in 2015, Novitsky was a federal agent with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Office of Criminal Investigations, leading investigations of companies suspected of illegally distributing performance-enhancing substances, including the case involving Lance Armstrong and the U.S. Postal Service Cycling Team. Prior to that, Novitsky conducted Internal Revenue Service investigations into some of...

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's (HIWU) "pending" and "resolved" cases portals. Resolved ADMC Violations Date: 03/11/2025 Licensee: Danny Morales, trainer Penalty: 5-day period of Ineligibility for Covered Person, beginning on March 12, 2025; 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;...