HISA

The rate of fatal injury in equine athletes for 2024 was 1.11 per 1000 starts, the lowest rate since the creation of the Equine Injury Database (EID) back in 2009, according to the initial data analysis from the 16th year of reporting to the EID. Based on the 2024 data, 99.89% of all flat racing stats at racetracks participating in the EID were completed without a fatality. Analysis of the EID, released Wednesday by The Jockey Club, was provided by Dr. Euan Bennett of the University of Glasgow and Professor...

PENN Entertainment's Zia Park Racetrack is seeking applications for a track superintendent and official starter for its 2025 fall season, the organization said in a press release on Friday. The position's duties include managing the track maintenance team, oversight of all equipment, maintaining compliance with HISA and New Mexico Racing Commission rules and regulations, and ensuring a safe racing surface for all equine and human participants. The role of the starter includes the recruitment and managing of assistant starters, starting of all races, gate schooling for horses and oversight of...

Lexington, KY--The final day of the Organization of Racing Investigators (ORI) Training Conference at Keeneland escalated the focus on enforcement and how investigators can broaden their expertise. Though participants regularly receive training at home, the ORI sessions offer equine knowledge that is highly specialized which can be taken back to their own jurisdictions and applied. Mike Singletary, vice president of security for the Maryland Jockey Club, said when his team walks the shedrow at Pimlico or Laurel being cognizant of your surroundings takes time and effort to hone. "Information is...

Lexington, KY - With a view overlooking the massive renovation of the Keeneland paddock, professional equine investigators soaked up the latest techniques in the trade and engaged some of the most pressing issues across racing during the first day of the 29th annual Organization of Racing Investigators (ORI) Training Conference on Monday. The ORI is a member organization which is composed of investigators who hail from jurisdictions across the U.S. and includes an international cadre as well. The conference's purpose is to create a resource where these shoe leather detectives...

I am writing this letter in response to the article on the New York Times opinion piece, "In a Lengthy Guest Essay, the New York Times Advocates Ending Subsidies to Racing," published in the March 1 edition of the TDN. The Times article has caused me and our industry pain from the untruths that are spoken within it. But I'm going to take a slightly different view here--let's see what is true in the article and what we need to do about it as an industry. Light Up Racing is...

It's not at all unusual for the New York Times to publish anti-horse racing pieces, something it has done dozens of times. But in Friday's edition, the Times held nothing back in what was arguably its most negative story yet. In a scathing 4,600-word guest essay written by Noah Shachtman entitled "Dead Athletes. Empty Stands. Why Are We Paying Billions to Keep This Sport Alive?," the author's main conclusion is that governments should not be propping up a dying business in horse racing, whether that is through revenues from casinos...

Light Up Racing is pushing back against a New York Times article on horse racing with a message sent to its members Friday. The message reads in part: "A new New York Times article on horse racing has been published, and unfortunately, it follows a familiar pattern: misleading claims, outdated narratives, and a failure to acknowledge the industry's real progress. They frame the industry as reliant on subsidies while overlooking the hundreds of millions it contributes in tax revenue. They call racing a dying sport but ignore the record Kentucky...

A Florida-based veterinarian has found herself in the crosshairs of a state law barring her from obtaining a license issued by the Florida Gaming Control Commission (FGCC) having already been employed by the agency within the prior two-year period--a rule that has some industry stakeholders scratching their heads at a time when many jurisdictions are already struggling to find enough regulatory and practicing veterinarians, including in Florida. "I have no job right now because I came down here to take that job and moved over to Tampa," said veterinarian Christine...

Assessing the data amassed by the Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Authority for the 2024 season, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association's Tom Rooney weighed in on the progress made in racing-related fatal injuries since HISA entered the picture. For the first time since the data has been tracked and recorded, the rate fell below 1.00 per 1000 starts for the 2024 calendar year. "HISA has been a clear game changer for Thoroughbred racing and its programs are working," said Tom Rooney, NTRA President and CEO. "It is important to not...

An 81-year-old veterinarian and two trainers with decades of experience who were summarily suspended in November by the Pennsylvania State Horse Racing Commission (PSHRC) for allegedly having engaged in "inappropriate, illegal or unethical conduct" at Penn National Race Course are among 14 individuals facing charges related to violations of intra-articular injection rules. The new allegations were announced Feb. 21 by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) and the Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit (HIWU). A coordinated investigation led by the PSHRC-first reported by TDN's J.N. Campbell three months ago-had...

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: 02/18/2025 Licensee: Raymond Valerio, 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. Final...

For the first time in the United States since data has been recorded, the racing-related fatality rate at racetracks subject to the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority's (HISA) rules fell below 1.00 per 1,000 starts for a calendar year, the regulator said in a press release on Thursday morning. In 2024, 99.91% of starts did not result in a fatality. From January 1 through December 31, 2024, 47 racetracks across 19 states operating under HISA's rules recorded an aggregate racing-related fatality rate of 0.90 per 1,000 starts, an approximate 27%...