scratches

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...

Representatives from the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) and the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) hosted a Town Hall Friday to dig down into the information issued in their recent annual reports and fatality metrics. One aim of the town hall, said HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus, was to publicly "look under the hood" of the fatality numbers to better understand how they're compiled. "How do we collect these metrics? What does the process look like? Why are we very confident that they are accurate?" said Lazarus. As much...

The third race at Belmont Park Friday was left with just two horses entered to run after Lasix was not administered to four horses who were supposed to receive it. The veterinarian charged with administering the Lasix, Dr. Steven Lascher, "is no longer employed by NYRA," the company said. The race, a $100,000 allowance optional claimer at one mile had drawn six entries, but was left with just two: Pharoah's Heart (American Pharoah) and Honey Money (Central Banker) after the omission came to light. "Four horses entered to run in...

Facing a July 1 federal mandate to get all licensed personnel and actively racing Thoroughbreds registered in accordance with the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA), representatives from that organization's Authority team fielded questions from industry participants Friday in an online "town hall" forum, where the most pertinent query had to do with whether horses will get scratched if their online HISA registrations are incomplete by that deadline. The short answer, according to the HISA Authority's chief executive officer, Lisa Lazarus, is yes. But her slightly longer explanation tells us...