industry

On May 5, 2026, the Light Up Racing Board of Directors announced the organization's decision to sunset following Breeders' Cup 2026, in the absence of a long-term organizational home and sustainable funding structure for the work. The following observations are not made from the sidelines. They come from being inside the work. There Is No Silver Bullet One of the most common questions we heard from leaders was simple: what is the solution? The campaign. The message. The strategy that will finally "fix" public perception. The honest answer is that...

Light Up Racing, a program launched in 2024 meant to address issues in the sport head on through conversation, will cease operations following this year's Breeders' Cup at Keeneland, the organization announced Tuesday. In a letter submitted by Light Up Racing's interim executive director Amy Brin, the program reflects back on what was built and how messaging can be disseminated in the future, saying, "From the beginning, the work was based on a simple principle: confidence in the sport cannot be manufactured through messaging; it has to be earned through...

California's storied racetracks once set the gold standard in American racing. Yet today, many owners are asking: is there hope? From my vantage point as a longtime owner, the answer lies in collaboration, clear communication and a shared commitment to the future. We've seen encouraging signs--new training programs, emerging talent and a continued passion among participants. California racing does not lack for quality horses, trainers or owners. What we must do now is harness that strength and align it toward a common purpose. After retiring from a career in public...

I have been reading the opinions of many respected people who have invested greatly in the racing industry and have been involved in it for decades. Many of their observations about the state of the sport and the organizations that are supposed to lead it are correct. I would like to share what I have discovered over the past few years. I have been involved in breeding and racing Thoroughbreds for more than 40 years, and I care deeply about the future of this industry. Like many others, I have...

Valerie Dailey, a Thoroughbred breeder in Florida since 1985, has been elected President of the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders' and Owners' Association at a board meeting following the annual member meeting, the organization announced Friday. "I'm honored to have been selected to serve as president for a second time," Dailey said. "The industry has definitely changed since my initial term in 2022 and we have a challenging road ahead. My goal is to educate and get the word out about greatness of the Florida-bred Thoroughbred and our significant impact on the...

Amplify Horse Racing has been named one of three top national awardees of the 2025 CareerViewXR Production Grant, a program developed by CareerViewXR, a division of Be More Colorful, joinging Keystone LifeSci Collaborative and Oklahoma Connections Academy to garner the award out of a pool of applicants from across the country. All three winners will collaborate with CareerViewXR to develop their own custom video-based field trip which connects students with real-world career paths in their communities and beyond. Amplify's video will place a spotlight on the Thoroughbred industry by showcasing a...

National HBPA CEO Eric Hamelback released a quarterly letter Wednesday which addresses Florida's decoupling bill along with the New York Times piece on horse racing. The letter reads: "The first quarter of 2025 has been nothing short of a tsunami for most of us in the industry. We entered the year hoping to turn the page, making positive strides and setting the industry on the right path. Then came January 7. While the events of that date didn't bring our industry to a standstill, they certainly caused an unexpected stumble--one...

Light Up Racing, an initiative launched to highlight positive news in the racing industry, will join with Ocala Breeders' Sales Company for a presentation by Vicky Leonard. Leonard, whose own Australian thoroughbred marketing agency Kick Collective inspired Light Up Racing, will present tactics on how to answer difficult questions from those outside the industry along with transforming negative opinions into positive messaging. The event will be held Sunday, May 5 from 5-7 p.m. on the second floor of the ITW Building on the OBS grounds. "We are excited to bring...

I just wanted to express my frustration and disappointment that we, as an industry, seem incapable of presenting a meaningful response to the negativity we are currently facing in the mainstream media. For example, when the 60 Minutes documentary aired several weeks ago, it elicited a wave of legitimate outrage. But the industry's side of the story was nowhere to be seen outside the trade press. We have a collective tendency, at times like this, to wring our hands and shuffle our feet, figuratively speaking. Surely the Thoroughbred Racing Industry,...

The Thoroughbred Horsemen's Assocation released the following letter on HISA. Click here to read the full letter. Below is an excerpt from the letter: "In short, HISA has survived constitutional challenges and the legal maneuverings now are just a distraction lacking substance. As the federal court said when it granted the limited injunction, if HISA fixes the four issues it specifically addressed as faulty, the case is over. Our view was previously, and continues to be, that litigation would be costly and there is little to gain. HISA was crafted...

by Armen Antonian Ph.D As the 2021 Breeders' Cup approaches, there is much for horse racing to celebrate. New procedures put in place at racetracks to prevent horses with pre-existing conditions from racing have reduced fatalities. And the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) will be implemented next year to standardize medication of horses. But from California to Kentucky to New York, horse racing is still under a magnifying glass. In the absence of national leadership, individual racetracks struggle to manage ongoing issues and each, on their own, is responsible...