National Thoroughbred Racing Association
Time is barreling onwards towards July 1, when the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) is scheduled to go into effect, and the pulse of the industry appears to be one of growing trepidation over what promises to be a sweeping reorder of its working mechanics. That is hardly surprising, given the program still lacks a central enforcement agency, thanks to stalled talks towards the end of last year with the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). What's more, in Lisa Lazarus, the board of directors has only just formally instated...
Jonathon Kinchen, winner of the 2015 NHC Tour (National Horseplayers Championship) and widely recognized from duties at NYRA and FOX television, has been suspended from the NHC and NHC Tour for a period of two years, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) announced Tuesday. Kinchen was disqualified from the NHC after it was learned that he was not in Las Vegas in person for the competition, as required by rule. "Maintaining the integrity of the NHC is of the utmost importance," said NTRA President and CEO Tom Rooney. "We look...
According to figures released Wednesday by Equibase, $12,218,407,637 was wagered on horse racing in the U.S. in 2021. The figure marks the first time betting has topped $12 billion since 2009 when $12.315 billion was bet. "Against an extraordinarily difficult backdrop, the resiliency of Thoroughbred racing was on full display in 2021, as we concluded the year with significant growth in purses and total handle of more than $12 billion, the highest since 2009," NTRA President and Chief Executive Officer Tom Rooney said in a statement. "We thank our customers...
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of Labor (DOL) will publish a joint temporary final rule to make available an additional 20,000 H-2B visas for the first half of fiscal year 2022 that ends Mar. 31, 2022, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association announced in a Monday press release. "Tremendously high demand for H-2B visas has led to this unprecedented move by the DHS and DOL," said NTRA President and CEO Alex Waldrop. "Competition for these visas has been fierce for many years, but is particularly so in...
Alex Waldrop, who will retire at year's end as President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), was honored with the 2021 Clay Puett Award for outstanding contributions to the racing industry during last week's University of Arizona Global Symposium on Racing. The award was established in 1994 and is named after Clay Puett, an Arizona resident whose innovations, including the development of the mechanical starting gate, helped to revolutionize racing around the world. Under Waldrop's leadership, the NTRA has focused its lobbying on legislation having...
Thomas J. (Tom) Rooney, a former U.S. Congressman, has been named to succeed Alex Waldrop as the president and CEO of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA). As has been previously announced, Waldrop will retire at the end of this year. Rooney is an owner and breeder and has been part of his family's Shamrock Farm, a Thoroughbred breeding and lay-up operation in Maryland. The farm was founded by his grandfather, Art Rooney, Sr. He has also served on the board of the Maryland Horse Breeders Association for the past...
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Eclipse Awards, the NTRA is holding a promotion in which fans will be asked to chose the top 10 horses and the top jockey and trainer during the five-decade era. Click here to play. Here are this writer's picks. It wasn't easy. Horses: Secretariat: Champion 2-Year-Old Male (1972); Champion 3-Year-Old Male (1973); Champion Male Turf Horse (1973); Horse of the Year (1972, 1973). Could be the best horse who ever lived. What more needs to be said? Seattle Slew: Champion 2-Year-Old Male...
The National Thoroughbred Racing Association has launched the NTRA Eclipse 50 Contest to provide fans the opportunity to vote for their top 10 favorite Eclipse Awards champions, as well as their favorite champion jockey and trainer from the last 50 years. Voting is currently underway at www.ntra.com and will conclude Jan. 25. One contest participant will be selected to win a trip for two to Lexington to spend a day at the races at Keeneland Race Course, tour the Four Roses Bourbon Distillery and visit historic Spendthrift Farm. The complete...
The Eclipse Awards Ceremony honoring champions of 2020 will be held Jan. 28 as a virtual event with portions hosted from Spendthrift Farm in Lexington. Winners in 17 human and equine categories will be announced in a virtual ceremony streamed live on multiple outlets, including TVG and Racetrack Television Network, beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET. The finalists for the 2020 Eclipse Awards will be announced Jan. 16. "Aligning the 50th Eclipse Awards with a historic property like Spendthrift Farm serving as the backdrop for the broadcast is a natural," said...
When it was announced last week that a record $748.6 million had been wagered on sports during September in New Jersey that appeared to be more bad news for horse racing. It was the most ever bet in any one state during a month and a sign of the times. The amount legally wagered on sports in this country is soaring, with no end in sight, and it stood to reason that some of that money had been siphoned off from racing. Sports betting is now available in 18 states...
The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) has rescheduled the upcoming 2021 National Horseplayers Championship (NHC), originally slated for Feb. 12-14, to Aug. 27-29 due to the ongoing impacts of COVID-19. The NHC, a culmination of a year-long series of tournaments of which the winner is honored at the Eclipse Awards, will be held at Bally's Las Vegas. "With the support of our partners at Bally's and Caesars Entertainment, we have secured dates that provide us with a great opportunity to host a world-class event in the safest possible environment for...
The National Thoroughbred Racing Association issued the following statement Friday from President and CEO Alex Waldrop: "The racing industry would not exist and could not function without the contributions of the black community and people of color. The systemic racism that has poisoned our country cannot be allowed to inflict its pain on one more generation. We must work individually and collectively to dismantle these prejudices for good and confront the injustice that devalues the lives of the very people who make sure our industry can endure. "We at the...