Light Up Racing

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...

You might have a lifelong passion for horses, and even devote your whole working life to their welfare. But sometimes there is no substitute for sitting on their backs. A few years ago, Dr. Jeff Berk took a vacation from his relentless schedule as an equine veterinarian in order to-well, spend a little time with horses. His next trip to Britain was not to Tattersalls, as usual, but to an eventing course run by two former Olympians. Though Berk was a perfectly accomplished rider, with years of foxhunting behind him,...

INSIDE A YEAR OF MOMENTUM--AND THE COLLABORATION STILL NEEDED 2025 marked a turning point for Thoroughbred racing--not because of a single initiative or organization, but because the industry began leaning more intentionally into transparency, collaboration, and proactive communication. Light Up Racing was honored to play a role in this broader movement toward truth-based storytelling, stepping in as one demonstration of what's possible when we show the public who we truly are with clarity and consistency. The attached 2025 Impact Report provides a clear picture of that shift--the measurable momentum, the...

Last week, Kentucky news outlet LEX18 reported the death of Kayseri, a University of Kentucky-bred mare who was shipped to Puerto Rico and ultimately euthanised after prolonged suffering. Her story is devastating - but sadly, not unusual. Kayseri stood in a shipping container for three days at sea, then raced far beyond the point of soundness. No one stepped in to retire her. In January, she was put down due to degenerative joint disease. The treatment of horses in Puerto Rico, throughout and after their racing careers, has been raised...

Public confidence isn't lost in a day. It erodes when we're silent, scattered, or slow to respond. That stops now. At Light Up Racing, we believe the future of this sport depends not just on how we react in moments of crisis, but on how we prepare for them. The Thoroughbred industry has an opportunity and a responsibility to lead with foresight, speak with clarity, and act with purpose before public trust is tested again. That's why Light Up Racing is launching a national pilot to strengthen the industry's crisis...

Registration is open for the Global Symposium on Racing, which will take place December 8-10, 2025, at Loews Ventana Canyon Resort in Tucson, Arizona, the event announced Friday. The Global Symposium on Racing brings together leaders and innovators from every corner of the horse racing world to explore the industry's most pressing challenges and emerging opportunities. Over the course of three days and more than a dozen panel sessions, attendees will engage in discussions and gain valuable insights. This year's Symposium will feature a pre-conference media training workshop titled 'Calm....

The Association of Racing Commissioners International's (ARCI) annual Animal Welfare and Integrity Conference, which was hosted at Churchill Downs during the afternoon of Thursday, May 8, heard from a pair of panels that specifically delved into how social media can impact the industry, according to a Friday press release from the organization. The 'Thoroughbred Racing Roundtable' included West Point Thoroughbreds own Terry Finley along with Churchill Downs's Vice President and General Manager Mike Ziegler and Tina Bond, an owner-breeder who is president of both the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association...

Horse racing is under siege--not by its own reality, but by a story we are failing to control. Worst-case scenarios aren't just seen as common; they've become the rule in the public's mind. The New York Times, among others, understands this well. So they don't report on horse racing; they frame it. Their stories don't inform, they indict. They take exceptions and present them as norms, controversy as the foundation, and outliers as the rule. And when that kind of misinformation dominates, it's not just the media to blame. It's...

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...

Light Up Racing continues to respond to the New York Times piece on horse racing written last week. In an email to members Monday, the organization encouraged positive action such as writing letters to local newspapers and talking about safety advancements on social media platforms. In their Letter to the Editor, Light Up Racing writes in part: "Long before the Super Bowl or the World Series, horse racing was America's first great sporting event. It has brought people and horses together for generations, shaping the cultural and economic fabric of...

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...