safety

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...

The 12th Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit, scheduled for June 29 and June 30 in the Keeneland Sales Pavilion and livestreamed, will feature presentations on the progress of the racing industry and how diagnostic equipment and technology is being used to assist in racing safety, the summit announced Thursday. Presentations for June 29 will feature Dr. Tim Parkin discussing the latest statistics from the Equine Injury Database; Liza Lazarus, who will discuss HISA technology and data integration; and Dr. Scott Morrison, who will present on the racehorse and...

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) released its 2026 First Quarter Metrics Report Tuesday with a new low 0.95 racing-related fatalities per 1,000 starts for the quarter. During the first three months of the year (January 1-March 31), racetracks operating under HISA rules reported that 99.91% of starts occurred without a fatality. Of the racing-related fatalities recorded this quarter, 81% were attributable to musculoskeletal causes, 16% to sudden death and 3% to other causes. This quarter marked the inaugural safety impact of the HISA Equine Recovery Foundation (HERF), an...

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, owner and trainer Raul Beltran-Moreno has been suspended for 18-months and fined $12,500 after he was found in possession of Pitcher Plant Extract, a banned substance (which goes by the brand name Sarapin) due to its analgesic properties. The suspension began...

I've read every HISA annual metrics report since the first one landed in 2024. All three of them. Cover to cover, footnotes included. And every year I've come away with the same feeling: something is missing. Not from the effort. The effort is real. HISA has built the most comprehensive equine health database in the history of American racing. Seven million veterinary treatment records. Treatment histories that follow horses across state lines for the first time. The infrastructure is extraordinary. What's been missing is statistical depth. Year after year, the...

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) published its 2025 Annual Metrics Report Tuesday which showed just 1.04 racing-related equine fatalities per 1,000 starts. The report notes that that number, which is "a sustained reduction from pre-HISA benchmarks", also marks a nearly 50% decline since reporting began nationally in 2009 by The Jockey Club's Equine Injury Database (EID). "Our mission is clear: to make Thoroughbred racing safer for horses and riders while safeguarding the integrity and future of the sport," said HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus. "The data contained in this...

Last year's Eclipse champion juvenile filly, Super Corredora (Gun Runner), will miss the GII Santa Anita Oaks Apr. 4 after getting sick earlier this week, trainer John Sadler reported Friday. The GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies heroine has had a rough start to her 2026 campaign with two non-factor efforts in the Feb. 8 Las Virgenes Stakes and last out Mar. 8 in the GIII Santa Ysabel Stakes, where she missed the break and trailed far off her customary position. Super Corredora reportedly ran a fever earlier this week that...

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...

With the maintenance team scheduled for an annual track refresh Feb. 7-8, there will be no live racing at Los Alamitos Race Course on either day, the track announced via release. The maintenance project will begin following the conclusion of morning training Wednesday, Feb. 4. To provide the Los Alamitos staff with enough time to complete the comprehensive refresh of the one-mile dirt oval, the track will be closed for training Feb. 5-9. Training will resume Tuesday, Feb. 10, and live racing will return Saturday, Feb. 14. The annual procedure...

Edited Press Release The launch of a comprehensive review aimed at updating the veterinarians' list and stewards' list categories across U.S. Thoroughbred racing, with changes targeted for 2026, was announced Monday by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA). Through this initiative, HISA aims to modernize and harmonize these oversight tools, providing additional insights into national safety metrics. Beginning in 2026, HISA will conduct a detailed audit of existing veterinarians' and relevant stewards' list categories across racetracks, state racing commissions and HISA's rules. As part of this process, HISA will...

The live racing card at Woodbine set for Thursday, Dec. 11 will begin one hour earlier to accommodate the new card after the Dec. 4 program was cancelled following one race, Woodbine Entertainment has announced. The 10-race Thursday card will start the final week of live racing for the 2025 season at the venue, and will now kick off at 4:30pm local time. Cold weather bringing plenty of snow rolled through the area earlier in the week, and the cancellation was agreed upon by the Jockeys' Guild, the HBPA, and...

Hundreds of Kentucky HBPA-member trainers will now be eligible to sign up for a workers' compensation policy that covers their stable employees at a possible substantial savings. In a statement released Thursday morning, the Kentucky HBPA noted that "Kentucky HBPA members are now eligible for an existing partial self-funded workers' compensation program created and managed by horsemen. The insurance eligibility and procedures will be under HBPA Insurance Workers' Compensation. The partial self-funded program is administered by Gallagher Risk Management and insured by Bridgefield Casualty Insurance Company, which is an A+...