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Undefeated Thoughtfully Chasing Breeders’ Cup Berth In Friday’s Alcibiades

Heider Family Stables' undefeated Thoughtfully headlines a field of seven 2-year-old fillies entered Tuesday for Friday's 69th running of the $350,000 Darley Alcibiades (G1) going 1 1/16 miles on the main track at Keeneland.

The Darley Alcibiades is one of 10 Breeders' Cup Challenge Series races in the coming days at Keeneland that will award the winners fees-paid berths into their respective World Championship races. The Darley Alcibiades winner gets a free pass into the $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) to be run here Nov. 6.

The Darley Alcibiades will go as the ninth race on Friday's 10-race opening day program for the Fall Meet that runs 17 days through Oct. 24. First post time is 1:05 p.m. ET with the Darley Alcibiades going at 5:40 p.m.

Trained by Steve Asmussen, Thoughtfully debuted June 11 at Churchill Downs and romped to an 8 ¾-length score going 5 ½ furlongs. A month later at Saratoga, the Tapit filly scored a 5-length victory in the Adirondack (G2) going 6½ furlongs.

Ricardo Santana Jr., who has been aboard for both victories, has the call Friday and will break from post position one.

Likely to vie for favoritism with Thoughtfully is Phoenix Thoroughbred's Crazy Beautiful.

Trained by four-time Darley Alcibiades winner Kenny McPeek, Crazy Beautiful won the Aug. 9 Runhappy Debutante at Ellis Park before running a troubled second as the favorite in the Sept. 3 Pocahontas (G3) at Churchill Downs. Brian Hernandez Jr. has the mount and will break from post position four.

McPeek will have two other starters in the race: Susan Moulton's Oliviaofthedesert and Harold Lerner, Magdalena Racing and Nehoc Stables' Simply Ravishing.

Oliviaofthedesert has three starts won her lone race on dirt by 5½ lengths at Ellis in August. She will be ridden Friday by Corey Lanerie and break from post position three. Simply Ravishing is perfect in two starts and enters Friday's race off a daylight victory in the off-the-turf P.G. Johnson at Saratoga Sept. 3. Luis Saez has the mount and will exit post position seven.

The field for the Darley Alcibiades, with riders from the rail out, is: Thoughtfully (Santana Jr.), Travel Column (Florent Geroux), Oliviaofthedesert (Lanerie), Crazy Beautiful (Hernandez Jr.), Xtrema (James Graham), Gramercy (Joel Rosario) and Simply Ravishing (Saez). All starters will carry 122 pounds.

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Grade 2 Winner Bird Song Sold To Stand In Saudi Arabia

Multiple stakes winner Bird Song (Unbridled's Song – Bird Town) has been purchased to continue his stud career in Saudi Arabia in a deal brokered by Chad Schumer of Schumer Bloodstock.

The 7-year-old son of Unbridled's Song previously stood at Gainesway Farm in Kentucky. His oldest crop are yearlings of 2020.

Trained by Ian Wilkes on behalf of famed breeder Marylou Whitney, Bird Song won five races, including the Grade 2 Alysheba Stakes at Churchill Downs. That gate-to-wire victory over Honorable Duty, Noble Bird, and American Freedom capped an excellent 4-year-old campaign that also saw him win the G3 Fred W. Hooper Stakes at Gulfstream Park and run placed in the G3 Hal's Hope and Ben Ali Stakes.

Bird Song boasts a pedigree out of the top drawer as a son of Marylou Whitney's champion Kentucky Oaks heroine Bird Town. In turn, that daughter of Cape Town is a half-sister to Belmont Stakes winner Birdstone, subsequently a classic-producing sire.

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The Sculptor In The Tack Room: Horses Kept Calling Maksimovic Back To The Racetrack

Great writers such as Red Smith and Damon Runyon always maintained the best stories were on the backside of racetracks. If they had known Djuro “Max” Maksimovic, they would have pointed to him as proof. Arguably (or maybe inarguably) Max was the most unusual man ever to walk a backside shedrow.

I came to know Max through a phone call from David Schneck, racetrack representative for the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association, whose office on the Churchill Downs backside was next to the 12 foot by 12 foot tack room that was home and hearth to Max.

David called me to tell me about a clay sculpture Max created of jockey Isaac Murphy astride 1884 Kentucky Derby winner Buchanan. The hope was that a story in The Blood-Horse would generate interest and funding for a bronze casting. The goal was to see the casting displayed permanently in the Kentucky Derby Museum at Churchill Downs or even the National Museum of Racing in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

There may have been an ultimate and ulterior goal, however, that was far more important: to see a gifted man find what he had lost on the backside.

I met Max, at the time a groom for then-trainer Steve Penrod, in David's office after morning work for barn workers, which ends around 11 a.m. and begins at anywhere from 4 to 5 a.m.

Max's lined, goateed face was quintessentially Slavic, and he was a Serb from what was then Yugoslavia. If you were casting extras in a movie about Lenin-era Russia and the Russian Revolution, Max would be an easy choice.

His goateed face was also that of an artist and an intellectual. His eyes were squinted, like many whose work is outdoors, and they shone and flashed as he spoke. His tanned skin was acquiring the sags and wrinkles that await most of us in old age. He was 60 at the time. If you saw a photo of Max with a neutral background or in an environment away from the racetrack, you might place him mentally in a museum gallery or an artist's studio. A backside of a racetrack is the last place you'd expect to find him.

You most definitely would not have placed a former Fulbright Scholar there.

Giftedness with sculpting was manifest early in his life through a literally crafty means of subterfuge to avoid finishing meals as a child. He described himself in childhood as a “bad doer,” racetrack parlance for a horse that doesn't eat well.

“I would take pieces of bread and form small animal figurines. My parents would be so taken with what I had made, they would forget I was supposed to be eating the bread,” he recalled with a laugh.

An early interest in horses may have come from his father's position as chief veterinarian in a still horse-drawn Yugoslav military after World War II.

His father's position also brought him before Marshal Tito, president of Yugoslavia, when he was hospitalized as a child, and the legendary national leader visited the hospital for the kind of appearances heads of state make for photo opportunities.

“When Tito came to visit I was introduced to him as 'our little sculptor,'” Max recalled. “Tito asked if I needed anything and I said, 'Yes. I don't have any clay.'

“He snapped his fingers and one of his aides wrote something down on a pad. I was teased by the other kids that Tito would forget. Then the clay arrived from Italy.

“It was the best clay there was.”

In Max's accented English he became, in his words, “some kind of child prodigy.” Entered in a competition for art students in Max's native city of Belgrade, his entry was declared Best in Show, but he almost didn't collect his award. The judge called his mother to tell her work entered under Max's name was indeed, the most outstanding, but there was a problem: they didn't know if Max had really sculpted it. After all, he was only nine years old competing against the best Belgrade art students, some who were twice his age.

“My mother called this lady and sent me to see one of the judges with some clay,” he said. “I told this lady I'd make her anything she wanted me to make and I made her a cow. I did it in two minutes with ears, split hooves, tail, and horns.

“She said, 'That's all I need to see.'”

Max received the award.

Max's first experience with horses was when his father was assigned to duty with a Yugoslav military detachment in Burma. It was there that a teenaged Max joined a riding club and wound up driving trotters in harness racing. Returning to Yugoslavia after his father's posting, Max was accepted into the Academy of Fine Arts in Belgrade. Max related how he never really tried at his studies although finishing at the top of his class. This was a precursor of things to come in his life — “My mind was on horses.”

It was on completion of academy studies that a Fulbright Scholarship became part of Max's story. It took him to Boston University to study sculpture, but only for one year. Iron Curtain Yugoslavia blocked customary two-year tenures for nationals receiving a Fulbright in fear that they would not return home.

Max left the university after one year — to lead horses in the shedrow of barns on the backside of Suffolk Downs in Boston.

The reasons for this destination rather than a studio or even a teaching position in America or back home in Yugoslavia are open to a lot of speculation among friends and others who came to know Max. He shrugged with a mixture of both regret and resignation over a lifetime spent on the racetrack.

“If I had to live my life all over again, I would try the art way,” as he described it. “I probably would, but…” He never finished the sentence.

Art, however, found Max on the backside. One day at Churchill Downs, a horse owner and client of Steve Penrod saw Max creating a clay horse for a child.

“She watched me and asked if I would be so kind to make her one. Later, she went to an art store and bought me some clay.

“It sat around and I never did anything with it.”

Two years later, the late wife of Steve Penrod told Max that the owner was dying of cancer.

Others in the KTA office looked away and I shut off a tape recorder as Max wept for several minutes. Collecting himself, Max recounted that the owner, before her death, came out to Churchill Downs to see a sculpture of a horse Max created for her before she died. She loved it and paid for two castings, one for her and the other for Max to keep. The cost was easily in the thousand of dollars.

The casting initiated a return, of sorts, to his gift. Churchill Downs commissioned Max to create a bust of Julian “Buck” Wheat that is in the trainer's lounge. But before that, a documentary on Isaac Murphy gave him an idea for the sculpture of the jockey and Buchanan.

I remember well walking the few steps from the KTA office to the tack room where Max was living to see the sculpture. It sat on a wooden table, approximately three feet long and perhaps 18 inches high. Its size dominated the small room but was in strong contrast to clothing hung on hooks around a closet-less room meant for tack–bridles, saddles, the accouterments for an animal.

A closer look at Max's sculpture

I was speechless at the grace, accuracy, and artistry of his sculpture.

The work galvanized Max in a way far different from how he was in the interview next door. He began to talk about the art of sculpting in a kind of soliloquy.

“What sculpting is about is fear of mistakes popping up after it is cast. As long as I can see something that needs correcting, I won't let it go.” He talked about staying away from the work and not even looking at it, which is hard to imagine in the cramped room. “You keep working at it and leaving it till you can't do anything more.”

He used the words “mortally afraid” as he talked about “construction failures” that can cause a sculpture to fall to one side before it is cast.

“I have to make sure it stands right and has balance, then the right proportions–the proper length in the legs, the right-sized head.” With passion and an absence of self-consciousness, he said he was “bound to the suspensory ligaments and the musculature.”

I wrote a 550-word story for the old “People” column in what was the Derby results issue of The Blood-Horse. It is the largest-selling edition annually for the magazine and it was the best chance for exposure and a casting of Max's statue.

For a few of the 12 years that followed, I checked with David on Max's piece. We both gave up on the piece ever being cast after a time, and it still sits in the storage room where David lives.

David texted me last week that Max had died, one of the victims of the coronavirus.

Looking at photos of Max and the sculpture, there is a parallel between the work and this man's life. The sculpture may never be cast; Max's life was never cast into a role befitting his gift.

Neither is finished, perhaps.

The piece remains, as it is now, in clay rather than bronze, a tribute waiting to be made to a black jockey of great historical importance. Recognition of the role of African Africans in racing (and their elimination, largely, at the turn of the 20^th century through discrimination) has immense value, particularly in current times of racial strife. Cast and placed in the Derby or Saratoga museums, it could both preserve history and carry a vision of a future for African-Americans in racing.

For Max, it addresses and might answer a question one fellow racetracker had that all of us who knew him asked: “What's a man that talented doing on the backside?”

The answer, perhaps to come with a permanent casting of Murphy and Buchanan, is Max may find himself where we all believed he should have been all along — in a museum, finishing his life, even after death, “the art way.”

Ken Snyder is a Kentucky-based freelance turf writer whose work has appeared in a number of horse racing magazines. He currently is a regular contributor to British-based Gallop Magazine.

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‘At Long Last Rounding The Final Turn’: Horseracing Integrity And Safety Act Passes In House

Congressman Paul D. Tonko's bipartisan national horse racing reform bill, H.R. 1754, the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act, passed the U.S. House of Representatives today. The bill has long been co-led by Congressman Andy Barr (R-KY) and would designate the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority to design and implement uniform national horse racing medication and racetrack safety standards.

“After nearly six years working to advance this bipartisan legislation to modernize horseracing in the United States, we are at long last rounding the final turn,” Congressman Tonko said. “Our Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act puts the health and well-being of our equine athletes and jockeys firmly at the center of the sport, and delivers commonsense medication and track safety standards that will lift this noble sport to higher standards of integrity and safety. These long overdue reforms will help restore public trust in the sport and put it on a path to a long and vital future, supporting countless jobs and driving economic activity in communities across our nation. I thank my longtime collaborator and friend, Congressman Barr, for leading with me in this effort to restore integrity to this sport of kings. I urge my colleagues in the Senate to advance their companion legislation without delay and deliver it swiftly to the President to sign into law.”

“With today's HISA passage in the House, we continue our momentum and move one step closer toward historic reform for the horse racing industry,” said Congressman Barr. “This legislation, developed through a highly deliberative and bipartisan process, will ensure the safety of our equine athletes and increase the popularity, public confidence, and international competitiveness of the sport. I want to thank my House colleagues for supporting this legislation which will usher in a new era for this great Kentucky, and great American, industry.”

The bill approved by the House today also has companion Senate legislation introduced recently by U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Martha McSally (R-AZ), and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA).

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell: “Our bipartisan legislation to recognize a national standard for Thoroughbred racing is receiving support from all corners. Now, it's earned the approval of the House. Today's vote was another important step toward protecting our beloved sport for the horses, jockeys, trainers, breeders, and fans. I'd like to congratulate Congressmen Andy Barr and Paul Tonko and their colleagues for championing this legislation in the House. I look forward to their continued support as work continues to pass this bill into law.”

Alex Waldrop, President And CEO of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association: “Today's historic passage of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) by the U.S. House of Representatives by an overwhelmingly favorable bipartisan vote reflects broad industry support for much-needed national standards for anti-doping and medication control as well as racetrack safety. Today's action would not have been possible without the longtime support of Representatives Paul Tonko (D-NY) and Andy Barr (R-KY) who have demonstrated time and again on key issues as diverse as internet wagering and tax reform, they understand the importance of our multi-billion-dollar industry that accounts for nearly 500,000 jobs nationwide.”

Marty Irby, executive director at Animal Wellness Action: “After nearly six years of pressing the House to pass anti-doping legislation we're thrilled to see our efforts and advocacy have brought the elimination of doping in U.S. horseracing closer to the finish line. We applaud Reps. Tonko and Barr for their tremendous leadership, H.R. 1754 puts the welfare of the horse at the center of the enterprise, and we call on the Senate to saddle up and swiftly pass this measure that will ensure the future of the sport.”

New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) President and CEO Dave O'Rourke: “NYRA has long supported a national approach to medication control and anti-doping across the sport of horse racing. The safety and welfare of the athletes competing at NYRA tracks is our highest priority, which is why NYRA supports the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act and urges quick consideration by Congress.”

Staci Hancock, Managing Member of the Water Hay Oats Alliance: “The members of WHOA applaud Congressmen Paul Tonko and Andy Barr for their bipartisan leadership in working with all segments of our industry. Today's passage of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act marks a much anticipated and long awaited day for our horses and horse racing. WHOA's grassroots efforts have been focused on enacting legislation for drug free racing under the independent oversight and management of the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). The passage of HISA in the House of Representatives today is an important milestone on the way to setting these reforms into law.”

Sara Amundson, president of the Humane Society Legislative Fund: “With 8.5 horses dying on average at the races every week, congressional intervention is imperative to protect these magnificent animals. In record time, Chairman Pallone, Reps. Tonko and Barr have led passage of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act on the House floor. We urge the Senate to swiftly pass this bill to end equine racehorse doping and increase track safety. As horses continue to race, we owe them every opportunity to cross the finish line healthy and intact for another day.”

United States Anti-Doping Agency CEO Travis T. Tygart: “The introduction of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act marks a historic moment for Thoroughbred horse racing, and USADA is honored and humbled to carry out the anti-doping responsibilities detailed in the Act, implementing uniform rules through our independent model in service of clean competition. As with Olympic sport, one set of rules, enforced independently and uniformly, is the bedrock of any meaningful anti-doping program. This game-changing, bipartisan legislation will protect the health and safety of equine athletes and provide clean competitors a level playing field.”

Thoroughbred Owners & Breeders Association President Dan Metzger: “Passage of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act is in the best interests of owners and breeders, would enhance equine health and safety, and would bring much-needed uniformity to our industry.”

Doug O'Neill, owner of Doug O'Neill Racing Stable: “Racing needs the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act to create a vibrant national anti-doping system for Thoroughbred racing throughout the United States and to mandate a meaningful racetrack safety standards program for U.S. racetracks. Both will protect our equine athletes and provide superb integrity standards.”

Barry Irwin from Team Valor International: “Passage of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act will bring a higher level of integrity and safety to horse racing. Having our sport contested on a level playing field with the aid of USADA is especially meaningful to me, and it's something I've been promoting for more than 16 years.”

Trainer, Janet Elliot: “It is time for U.S. racing to join the rest of the world and enact uniform international rules and standards and abolish the use of race-day medication. Eliminating performance-enhancing drugs is imperative for the health and safety of our equine and human athletes.”

Joe Harper, CEO of Del Mar Thoroughbred Club: “Our sport needs the uniformity that the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) will provide. The Del Mar Thoroughbred Club is unwavering in its commitment to the welfare of our human and equine athletes. Our goal is to ensure our sport is conducted at the highest levels of safety and integrity, and the medication and safety reforms within the HISA will help the industry meet and exceed that goal.”

Ted Kuster from Shawhan Place: “The leadership provided by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act is a must for American racing to survive. Rules and regulations must be the same in all states, and this act will ensure that happens. I would like to thank Rep. Barr for his perseverance in getting this bill where it is today.”

Dr. Riddle from Rood & Riddle: “In addition to its emphasis on safety, fairness, and integrity, the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act represents a step in the direction of nationwide uniformity and cooperation, which our industry greatly needs.”

Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey: “I have had the good fortune to win the Kentucky Derby, Belmont Stakes, nine Breeders' Cup races, four Travers stakes, and an Eclipse Award as the outstanding trainer in North America, so I know a little about U.S. horse racing. The HISA, which includes racetrack safety to further enhance the anti-doping program in the Horseracing Integrity Act, will bring meaningful standards to help protect Thoroughbred racehorses and to safeguard the integrity and future of our sport.”

Antony Beck President and CEO of Gainesway Farm: “As an owner and breeder, nothing is more important to me than the welfare of my horses. Horses are the heart of this industry, and they deserve our respect. There is no place in our sport for race-day medication, and the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act will ensure our horses race medication-free.”

Cathy Liss, president of Animal Welfare Institute: “The senseless loss of life occurring on racetracks must stop now,” said Cathy Liss, president of AWI. “The Horseracing Integrity Act would provide much-needed oversight and directly improve the welfare of racehorses in the United States. We thank Reps. Tonko and Barr, as well as Sens. McConnell, Gillibrand, McSally, and Feinstein, for working to see this legislation to the finish line, and we urge the Senate to quickly send this bill to the president's desk.”

Horseracing's Storied Organizations

CHURCHILL DOWNS INCORPORATED: “It is critical to the future of Thoroughbred racing that the safety and integrity of our sport be governed by world-class, uniform standards across the United States. The leadership of Senator McConnell and Congressman Barr has been instrumental in our shared goal of bringing the Thoroughbred industry together to achieve this goal.”

KEENELAND: “This groundbreaking legislation and the collaborative effort behind it speaks to the commitment those of us in the Thoroughbred industry have to establish uniform safety and integrity standards across the U.S. and bring American racing in line with international guidelines.”

THE JOCKEY CLUB: “The Jockey Club has long pursued a collaborative solution within our industry to establish national reforms ensuring clean competition and improved safety for horses and humans alike. We strongly believe that the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act is vital to developing uniform and effective medication and safety regulations that will enhance the integrity and safety of American horse racing and improve the sport.”

BREEDERS' CUP LIMITED: “This legislation gives us an opportunity to make the single most significant and far-reaching safety and integrity enhancement in the history of Thoroughbred racing by bringing our sport into the 21st century and protecting its future for generations to come.”

1/ST RACING: “At 1/ST RACING our priority is to ensure the safety of our horses and riders and we believe that the investment into equine health and safety is not on only the right thing to do, it is crucial to the future of Thoroughbred racing. The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Actrecognizes that industry stakeholders including the owners, trainers, breeders, jockeys, and racetrack operators must be unified toward a new standard of equine health, safety, and welfare.”

Anti-Doping and Animal Welfare Groups

U.S. ANTI-DOPING AGENCY: “The introduction of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act marks a historic moment for thoroughbred horse racing. This game-changing, bipartisan legislation will protect the health and safety of equine athletes and provide clean competitors a level playing field. USADA is honored and humbled to carry out the anti-doping responsibilities detailed in the Act, implementing uniform rules through our independent model in service of clean competition. As with Olympic sport, one set of rules, enforced independently and uniformly, is the bedrock of any meaningful anti-doping program.”

WATER HAY OATS ALLIANCE: “Without federal legislation mandating that USADA enact 'clean' drug rules, reliable testing, qualified labs and strict penalties for violators, the sport of American horse racing faces an uncertain future. With Senator McConnell's leadership and the continued efforts of Representatives Andy Barr and Paul Tonko in the House, WHOA's members look forward to the day when our great sport can rebuild its reputation, protect our beloved horses and their jockeys, and reclaim racing's place as one of America's top spectator sports.”

HUMANE SOCIETY OF THE UNITED STATES: “We cannot continue to look the other way when a racehorse is severely injured or killed during training or a race. This measure will advance necessary reforms that will make or break horseracing in the United States.”

Top Trainers

DALE ROMANS, All-time Win Leader at Churchill Downs: “My colleagues and I love this game and love our horses. We want them both to flourish with safety and integrity. It is time for me to announce I support the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) in order to unify our medication control under the aegis of USADA, and for our sport to develop and enforce one rulebook of standards and procedures for the health and safety of horse and rider.”

TODD PLETCHER, Two-time Kentucky Derby Winning Trainer: “I thank you for your leadership and vision in sponsoring the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) to reform anti-doping practices for Thoroughbred racing and to create a meaningful program of racetrack safety standards to better protect and nurture our equine athletes. You will have my support for this initiative, which is both critical and timely for the Thoroughbred industry.”

JANET ELLIOT, Hall of Fame Trainer: “It is high time that America joins with the rest of the racing world, and develops uniform international rules and standards. It is absurd that each state in the country has its own set of rules. In order to have top class racing we must work together to abolish all race day medication. The elimination of performance enhancing drugs is imperative for the health and safety of our equine and human athletes, and the long-term health of the breeding industry. I support the efforts made by WHOA and wish to see the progression of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act.”

Veterinary Leaders

ROOD AND RIDDLE EQUINE HOSPITAL: “In addition to its emphasis on safety, fairness, and integrity this bill represents a step in the direction of nationwide uniformity and cooperation, which our industry greatly needs.”

HAGYARD EQUINE MEDICAL INSTITUTE: “Hagyard supports independent oversight of uniform laboratory standards, testing, and accountability. A uniform set of rules to govern horse racing's therapeutic medications will help racing achieve the highest level of welfare for the horses and jockeys crucial to our industry. Hagyard Equine Medical Institute understands that any effort that can enhance the safety of horseracing requires the support of the veterinary community. We are encouraged by the spirit of compromise demonstrated and we appreciate the collaborative efforts put forth by multiple industry stakeholders.”

Top Industry Associations

NATIONAL THOROUGHBRED RACING ASSOCIATION: “We thank Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for his willingness and unique ability to bring the industry to the table to craft this comprehensive legislation. We also applaud Congressmen Paul Tonko (D-NY) and Andy Barr (R-KY) and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) for their pioneering efforts in support of federal anti-doping and medication control standards in the form of the Horseracing Integrity Act, which served as the basis for this historic compromise.”

KENTUCKY THOROUGHBRED ASSOCIATION: “The Kentucky Thoroughbred Association endorses the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act of 2020, to be introduced by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, adding independence and accountability to the original principles of uniformity in laboratory standards, testing and penalties.”

NEW YORK THOROUGHBRED HORSEMAN'S ASSOCIATION: “Horse Racing is at a crossroads. The 2019 breakdown crisis and this year's shocking indictments of veterinarians and trainers have exposed the industry's uneven commitment to both equine safety and competitive integrity. What's been obvious for years, to owners, trainers, bettors and fans – is that our industry's institutions need structural change.”

THOROUGHBRED HORSEMEN'S ASSOCIATION: “It has been our widely-expressed view that the original Horseracing Integrity Act, as proposed, should encompass mandatory equine safety and welfare standards for all racetracks and horsemen, and the creation of an investigative and enforcement arm of the industry. We intend to continue to be a constructive participant since the legislation, if enacted, will require substantial industry support and assistance.”

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