In a continued effort to get the track up to speed with national safety regulation, a panel of three board members with Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority issued a notice to Turf Paradise about its track railing on March 17.
A dangerous track rail was one in a list of alleged safety rule violations the Authority had cited the Phoenix, Ariz., facility for earlier this year. The Authority and Turf Paradise entered into an agreement Feb. 24 outlining an agreement for resolving issues with fee non-payment, horseshoe monitoring, whip use monitoring, and void claim policy issues. The inspection of the track railing was the final element from a notice served to Turf Paradise in January that had not yet been resolved.
The Turf Paradise HISA steward and a Jockeys' Guild representative examined the track railing and found “numerous gaps and exposed edges in the railing material that could inflict serious harm upon jockeys who might be unhorsed during a race and thrown into or over the railing.”
They then testified before the panel of the Authority presenting their findings at a hearing held March 16. The panel included Steve Beshear, Adolpho Birch, and Joseph De Francis, who heard evidence from the local HISA steward, the Guild, and track management, as well as attorneys for the Authority and for the racetrack.
The extent of needed repairs was characterized as unanticipated by track management, who voiced concern about a timeframe for getting repairs done while the track was in use for training and racing.
Counsel for the Authority urged the panel to require Turf to come into compliance by March 24 and to fine the track for allowing the issues to linger. Instead, the panel chose to require the track make repairs to the railing by March 31 and declined to impose a monetary sanction for not repairing the railing before now.
“If the repairs are not completed on or before March 31, 2023, or if there is evidence of any other deficiency in compliance with the Authority's rules as set forth in the Agreed Order of February 24, 2023, Turf Paradise shall be prohibited from conducting Covered Horseraces as of April 1, 2023, pending any further action taken by the Authority,” the decision from the panel read.
If Turf Paradise fails to comply with the panel's order, or the February order, it would no longer be able to legally export its simulcast signal or accept wagering through advance deposit wagering on April 1.
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