HISA

Churchill Downs has suspended Saffie Joseph, Jr. indefinitely and until further notice, the track announced Thursday. The announcement came on the heels of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC)'s order to scratch all horses trained by Joseph from racing at the track, including Lord Miles (Curlin) in Saturday's GI Kentucky Derby. The news came at the end of a day of announcements from Joseph and others, after two of Joseph's horses died at Churchill this week, regarding whether or not he would seek to run his horses over the weekend....

Even as the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (NHBPA) is trying to halt the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) for good, its attorneys filed a response in federal court Thursday that criticized the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)'s Apr. 27 order that mandated the third delay in nearly a year for the implementation of the Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) program, this time from May 1 to May 22. The NHBPA told the court that the FTC's issuance of the order to delay the program without first providing a...

Every week, the TDN publishes a roundup of key official rulings from the primary tracks within the four major racing jurisdictions of California, New York, Florida and Kentucky. Here's a primer on how each of these jurisdictions adjudicates different offenses, what they make public (or not) and where. With the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) having gone into effect on July 1, 2022, the TDN will also post a roundup of the relevant HISA-related rulings from the same week. California Track: Santa Anita Date: 04/21/2023 Licensee: Flavien Prat, jockey...

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on Thursday issued what it called a "final rule" that pushes back the start date for the Horseracing Integrity and Safety (HISA) Authority's Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) program until May 22. The ADMC program had been expected to go into effect May 1 after twice having its start delayed this year. TDN had reported on Apr. 25 that this date change was in the pipeline. The switch was revealed when Tom Chuckas, the director of Thoroughbred horse racing for the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture,...

The Jockeys' Guild, in partnership with the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA), will be conducting an anonymous mental wellness survey via text and email beginning today, Jockeys Guild announced. The survey is designed to seek riders' input on how to best support the health and welfare of jockeys and possibly others in the industry, and will be submitted to FGS Global, an independent research company. In addition to text and email, other individuals and organizations will be reaching out to jockeys riding across the United States to assist them...

Attendees of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Farm Managers' Club (KTFMC)'s monthly meeting, held Tuesday evening at Limestone Hall, were treated to "A Discussion with North America's Leading Trainers," featuring a panel that included Brad Cox, Bill Mott, Todd Pletcher and Brendan Walsh. FanDuel/TVG host and reporter Scott Hazelton moderated the discussion, as the trainers, who all have GI Kentucky Derby and/or GI Kentucky Oaks contenders in their stables, shared stories about their beginnings and how it all led to where they are today. "I was born in South Dakota and when...

The Florida Senate's Finance and Tax Committee unanimously advanced a tax cut proposal to the full Senate Apr. 18 that includes credits to Gulfstream Park and Tampa Bay Downs for prior-year assessments those tracks must pay to the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) Authority. But the News Service of Florida (NSF) reported Apr. 19 that the HISA tax breaks do not appear in an otherwise similar House version of the bill. The Senate's tax committee Chairman, Blaise Ingoglia, told NSF that the Thoroughbred industry in Florida is operating at...

Every week, the TDN publishes a roundup of key official rulings from the primary tracks within the four major racing jurisdictions of California, New York, Florida and Kentucky. Here's a primer on how each of these jurisdictions adjudicates different offenses, what they make public (or not) and where. With the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) having gone into effect on July 1, 2022, the TDN will also post a roundup of the relevant HISA-related rulings from the same week. New York Track: Aqueduct Date: 04/13/2023 Licensee: Dylan Davis, jockey...

Every week, the TDN publishes a roundup of key official rulings from the primary tracks within the four major racing jurisdictions of California, New York, Florida and Kentucky. Here's a primer on how each of these jurisdictions adjudicates different offenses, what they make public (or not) and where. With the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) having gone into effect on July 1, 2022, the TDN will also post a roundup of the relevant HISA-related rulings from the same week. California Track: Santa Anita Date: 04/09/2023 Licensee: Abel Cedillo, jockey...

Bill Walmsley, Jon Moss, and the Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association for Iowa filed suit against the Federal Trade Commission to "stop the illegally constituted Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA)" on Thursday, according to a press release from the National HBPA. The case, Bill Walmsley, et. al. v. Federal Trade Commission, was filed in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas. "Congress cannot outsource regulatory authority to a private organization--unaccountable to the American people--that has the power to create rules, levy fines, and adjudicate disputes," said...

The ongoing stand-off between California's Veterinary Medical Board (VMB) and the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) has amounted to a regulatory turf war over California's backstretch veterinarians. So far, the state's VMB has flexed its primacy, issuing dozens of records requests and, in a number of instances, complaints against vets within this colony. The highest profile such case concerned a settlement last year with CHRB equine medical director, Jeff Blea. In that settlement, the VMB issued Blea a fine of more than $130,000, required him to undergo continuing education classes...

An Amarillo Division federal judge in Texas on Thursday ordered the most recently filed lawsuit out of four active nationwide cases all trying to overturn the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) to be transferred to the Lubbock Division that is currently handling the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (NHBPA)'s similar and recently remanded complaint. The Apr. 6 order by U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk (Northern District of Texas, Amarillo Division) comes more than eight months after the litigation was initiated on July 29, 2022, and just one day...