Month: September 2023

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) and Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit (HIWU) announced Wednesday that Alan Foreman, the chairman and chief executive officer of the Thoroughbred Horsemen's Associations, Inc. (THA), will serve as ombudsman on behalf of HISA's rules, with a primary focus on the Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Program. The appointment is effective immediately.

As the national ombudsman, which is modeled after the World Anti-Doping Agency's Ombuds Program, Foreman's responsibilities include:

• Serving as an impartial and unbiased resource for Covered Persons and other Thoroughbred industry constituents to provide confidential advice and assistance at no cost to them in relation to the ADMC Program and the Racetrack Safety Program, including with respect to the rights and obligations of Covered Persons under both Programs.
• Accepting feedback and comments from Covered Persons and other Thoroughbred industry constituents with respect to the rules comprising both Programs and communicating such feedback and comments to HISA and/or HIWU.
• Providing advice to HISA and HIWU about the content and interpretation of the rules comprising both Programs.

In addition to Foreman's current position with the THA, which he is maintaining, Foreman is recognized as one of the leading racing law and equine attorneys in the United States, with expertise in medication, drug testing, equine safety, and welfare. His law practice encompasses all aspects of equine and horse racing law, and he is counsel to many horsemen's and racing industry organizations, including the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, Pennsylvania Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, National Steeplechase Association, and the United States Equestrian Federation Drugs and Medications Program. He is co-vice chair of the Racing Medication & Testing Consortium. He chairs the Mid-Atlantic Strategic Plan to Reduce Equine Fatalities, co-authored the widely respected New York Task Force Report on Racehorse Health and Safety, and was recently named by Maryland Governor Wes Moore to the newly created Maryland Thoroughbred Racetrack Operating Authority.

Foreman has informed HISA and HIWU that he will donate all compensation paid to him by both groups in connection with his duties as ombudsman to the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance.

“HISA's commitment to fairness in racing includes ensuring every horseman is fully aware of our rules and processes,” said HISA Chief Executive Officer Lisa Lazarus. “I am grateful that Alan is assisting HISA and HIWU to help educate racing participants and listen and learn from them as we work together to implement HISA's regulations as evenly and effectively as possible.”

“The new ombudsman position will assist horsemen and other Covered Persons with navigating the ADMC rules, thus enhancing understanding and facilitating compliance under the ADMC Program,” said Ben Mosier, executive director of HIWU. “Alan's extensive experience in horse racing law, combined with a thorough understanding of HISA's rules, make him the ideal industry representative to take on this role.”

“I applaud HISA and HIWU for creating this important position and am honored that they have asked me to serve. It is vital for all Covered Persons and organizations to have a trusted advocate and resource for them in this new system, and I will do my best to be fair, objective, effective and meaningful. I hope this position helps to smooth the transition to our new regulatory system,” said Foreman.

Industry participants interested in utilizing the ombudsman service should reach out to Foreman via email at alan@foremanlaw.net or by phone at (410) 336-0525.

About the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority

When the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act was signed into federal law, it charged the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) with drafting and enforcing uniform safety and integrity rules in Thoroughbred racing in the U.S. Overseen by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), HISA is implementing, for the first time, a national, uniform set of rules applicable to every Thoroughbred racing participant and racetrack facility. HISA is comprised of two programs: the Racetrack Safety Program, which went into effect on July 1, 2022, and the Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Program, which went into effect on May 22, 2023.

The Racetrack Safety Program includes operational safety rules and national racetrack accreditation standards that seek to enhance equine welfare and minimize equine and jockey injury. The Program expands veterinary oversight, imposes surface maintenance and testing requirements, enhances jockey safety, regulates riding crop use and implements voided claim rules, among other important measures.

The ADMC Program includes a centralized testing and results management process and applies uniform penalties for violations efficiently and consistently across the United States. These rules and enforcement mechanisms are administered by an independent agency, the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU), established by Drug Free Sport International (DFSI).

About the Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit

The Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit (HIWU) was established in 2022 by Drug Free Sport International to administer the rules and enforcement mechanisms of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority's (HISA) Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Program. The ADMC Program establishes a centralized testing and results management process that applies uniform penalties for violations efficiently and consistently across all American Thoroughbred racing jurisdictions that HISA governs. As the enforcement agency of the ADMC Program, HIWU oversees all testing processes, including the selection of horses to be tested, training of sample collection personnel, and chain of custody procedures. Additionally, HIWU is charged with industry/stakeholder education, laboratory accreditation, results management and adjudication, and investigations. For more information, please visit hiwu.org.

The post ‘Trusted Advocate And Resource’: HISA, HIWU Name Alan Foreman As Ombudsman appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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When you win half the races on the card you are clearly having a very good day. On Saturday evening, Canterbury Park's leading rider, Harry Hernandez had such a day winning five of the 10 carded races including three stakes races. The panel of racing experts voted Hernandez Jockey of the Week for Sept. 5 through Sept. 10.

The award recognizes jockeys for riding accomplishments and who are members of the Jockeys' Guild, the organization which represents more than 1,050 active, retired and permanently disabled jockeys in the United States.

The Blair's Cove Minnesota Sprint Championship Stakes led the Festival of Champions Night that featured six stakes races for Minnesota-breds as part of their 10-race card. Trainer Michael Biehler gave a leg up to Hernandez on Jose Patio who led the field of six from gate to wire to post a 2 1/4-length win in 1:41:22 for the 1 1/16-mile turf test.

Riding for Canterbury Park's leading trainer, Joel Berndt, Hernandez was aboard the prohibitive favorite, Midnight Current in the Princess Elaine Minnesota Distaff Turf Championship for fillies and mares three-years-old and up. Breaking from post position three in the field of seven, Midnight Current was bumped at the start and stalked the pace before taking the lead at the top of the stretch to win by three lengths in 1:41.72 for the 1 1/16-mile turf race.

The trainer/jockey duo of Berndt and Hernandez teamed up again in the co-feature of the evening, the Northern Lights Futurity with Frosty View. Frosty View led the field of nine 2-year-olds from gate to wire to post a 4 1/4-length win in 1:12.33 for six furlongs on the main track.

In between the three stakes wins, Hernandez won two allowance races for trainer Tony Rengstorf with West Island in the fifth race and Sunshine Fever in the seventh race.

Hernandez, 27, followed in his father's footsteps, becoming a jockey in his native Puerto Rico where he attended jockey school. He moved his tack stateside in 2015 and won his first race at Parx that same year. He rode at tracks in the East including Finger Lakes, Monmouth and Aqueduct as well as Gulfstream Park and Tampa Bay in Florida before moving west to Turf Paradise where he was the leading rider the past two seasons. He won Canterbury's leading rider title last year and is currently at the top of the standings. Canterbury's season ends Sept. 16. He is also riding at Remington Park.

Hernandez outpolled apprentice rider Axel Concepcion who won 12 races for the week to lead all jockeys, Florent Geroux with two graded stakes wins at Kentucky Downs, Juan J. Hernandez with two stakes wins at Del Mar including the G2 Del Mar Juvenile Turf, and Joel Rosario with two graded stakes wins at Kentucky Downs.

The post Jockey Of The Week: Canterbury’s Leading Rider Harry Hernandez Wins Five Of 10 Saturday appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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