HISA

The track announcer at Parx Racing outside of Philadelphia, Jessica Paquette, has a new equestrian podcast she has launched named "Amateur Hour with Jessica Paquette," the voice of Parx said via a Monday afternoon tweet on X. The first pair of episodes have been released on Apple Music and on Spotify. Episode 1: Client/Trainer Relationships; Guests: Cellar Door Farm's Kelly Jennings, circuit trainer Archie Cox of Brookway Stables and Kentucky-based eventer Natasia Linnd. Episode 2: Social License to Operate in Horse Sports; Guests: David O'Connor, the Head of the USEF...

On May 22, the HISA Board of Directors will take a vote that could result in the ban of Lasix in all races. Any decision made by the Board, whether to keep the rules as they are, or to enact a full ban, must be unanimous. In response, five trainers and Eric Hamelback, the CEO of the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association, signed a letter imploring HISA to continue to allow the use of the medication in most races. Trainer Ron Moquett was among those signing the letter. To...

Trainer Ron Moquett joins this week's TDN Writers' Room to weigh in on HISA's impending vote on race-day Lasix and the open letter he recently co-signed on the subject.

A new Equine Health Advisory identifying key risk factors associated with fatal proximal hindlimb fractures in Thoroughbreds was revealed by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) Thursday. The advisory, which is based on data drawn from the HISA Portal, provides practical guidance for trainers and veterinarians on how to help prevent these catastrophic injuries. In 2024 and 2025, Regulatory Veterinarians at Covered Racetracks reported 28 fatal tibial (12) and pelvic bone (16) fractures. Most (75%) fractures occurred during training; 25% occurred during racing. Approximately 40% of horses with fatal...

Since the inception of HISA, the diuretic Lasix (also known as furosemide) has been banned in all 2-year-old races and in stakes races. But that may be about to change. On May 22, HISA's nine-member Board of Directors will take a vote on whether or not the medication should be banned in all races. On that date, unless the board votes unanimously to continue the status quo, the medication will be banned. The board could also make any number of recommendations for modifications to the current provisions. To the extent...

Only Todd Pletcher could lose the prohibitive early favorite for the GI Kentucky Derby and the 2-year-old champion in Ted Noffey (Into Mischief) and still be stocked with talented horses that are on the road to the first leg of the Triple Crown. Pletcher has GIII Holy Bull Stakes winner Nearly, Sam F. Davis Stakes winner Renegade (Into Mischief) and recent allowance winner Jackson Hole (Nyquist), who will be among the favorites for Saturday's GII Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park. To discuss his plethora of talented colts, their...

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. Among this week's rulings, registered outrider Sydney Fried has been suspended for 90 days and fined $2,500 for failing to give investigators access to her personal bag during a routine barn search for fear, she argued, about the ramifications from marijuana possession. According to an...

Trainer Todd Pletcher had a lot to discuss on this week's TDN Writers' Room. This weekend on the Kentucky Derby trail, he'll send Jackson Hole to the GII Fountain of Youth Stakes and Class President to the GII Rebel Stakes, plus he has two fillies in the GII Davona Dale Stakes.

Editor's note: Currently, in HISA states, Lasix is banned in two-year-old racing and in stakes races 48 hours before a race. The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) is approaching a critical vote regarding the use of race-day Lasix in the rest of racing. Per the original Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act of 2020, the drug is effectively banned under that same 48-hour rule, though most states currently operate under a three-year exemption put in place to allow time for studies to be conducted. That exemption is now coming to...

In response to allegations from HISA that Churchill Downs owes the organization $2.4 million in fees, Churchill Downs issued a statement Thursday in which it said it does not "accept HISA's mischaracterization of our actions" and rebuffed any suggestions that Churchill Downs and its affiliate tracks are not fully committed to safety and integrity. The statement read: "Churchill Downs Incorporated remains fully committed to the safety and integrity of Thoroughbred racing. Any suggestion that the company is not supporting safety efforts is inaccurate. Churchill Downs has invested significantly in safety...

by Dan Ross and T.D. Thornton The Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) Authority on Wednesday summoned Churchill Downs Racetrack and its corporate parent, CDI, to a hearing before a panel of HISA board members in an attempt to secure payment of 2025 assessment fees that CDI has allegedly failed to submit on behalf of four racetracks the gaming corporation owns in Kentucky and Pennsylvania, including its flagship track in Louisville. HISA wants Churchill to pay $2,408,501 in allegedly overdue 2025 fees (plus $93,998 in interest) to the Authority...

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. Among this week's rulings, the Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Authority has issued to Churchill Downs Incorporated four notices for non-payment of its 2025 fees related to federal regulatory oversight of its Churchill Downs, Turfway Park, Ellis Park and Presque Isle Downs racetracks. The matter will...