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Lisa Lazarus Named Chief Executive Officer Of Horseracing Integrity And Safety Authority

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) Board of Directors announced Tuesday that Lisa Lazarus will serve as Chief Executive Officer of the Authority starting Feb. 15, 2022. The board reached this decision after engaging Russell Reynolds to undertake a nationwide search for a permanent Chief Executive Officer. Under Lazarus' leadership, HISA will implement the racetrack safety program on July 1, 2022, engage a best-in-class independent enforcement agency to oversee the Authority's Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) program, and work with stakeholders across the U.S. to evaluate and improve both programs on an ongoing basis.

“We are thrilled to have Lisa on board as we approach HISA's program effective date in six short months” said Charles Scheeler, Chairman of the Board of Directors. “Her deep background in sports business and law will be on full display as she leads the racing industry into a new, safer era of clean competition under uniform rules and regulations.”

“I look forward to working with the impressive and diverse array of independent and industry experts at HISA to make racing safer and fairer for all. As someone who has worked with the industry over the course of my career, and as a horse lover, I'm honored to be taking on this role,” said Lazarus.

Lazarus established and leads the Equestrian Practice at Morgan Sports Law, where she provides counsel on health and safety issues and rule compliance in addition to representing athletes, owners and trainers in disputes before national and international governing bodies. Prior to joining Morgan Sports Law, she served as General Counsel and later Chief of Business Development & Strategy at the Fédération Equestre Internationale, the international governing body for equestrian sports. Prior to her focus on the equine sporting industry, Lazarus spent a decade at the National Football League where she served as the league's Labor Relations Counsel, representing the NFL's 32-member clubs in collective bargaining issues and in contested arbitrations, including anti-doping enforcement matters. She then became Senior Legal Counsel before taking the role of Senior Director of Partner Development for NFL International at their headquarters in London, England. Lazarus began her legal career working as an associate at Akin Gump for four years after graduating from Fordham University School of Law and clerking for a Federal District Court Judge in Memphis, Tenn.

Under the leadership of Interim Chief Executive Officer Hank Zeitlin, the Authority's advisory committees drafted proposed rules and regulations and sought industry feedback through an extensive stakeholder engagement process, resulting in the successful submission of the Racetrack Safety Program to the Federal Trade Commission on Dec. 6. The ADMC Committee worked with USADA to release six documents for public input, including the proposed Equine Protocol, Prohibited List, Definitions, Equine Arbitration Procedures, Testing and Investigation Standards, and Standards for Laboratories and Accreditation.

“The significant progress achieved in just a short period of time is a testament to Hank's professionalism and intimate knowledge of the racing industry. He convened a small yet highly capable staff to undertake this enormous effort with the advisory committees, and the work products speak for themselves,” said Scheeler. “The Board of Directors deeply appreciate Hank's leadership and service to the racing community.”

“Being a part of the process to improve and modernize the sport has been a privilege,” said Zeitlin. “I look forward to working with Lisa in the coming months as my time at HISA comes to a close. There is no doubt in my mind that the Authority is in good hands as it continues its mission to protect the athletes, both equine and human, and the integrity of the sport.”

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Lazarus Named CEO of HISA

The Board of Directors for the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) has announced that Lisa Lazarus will serve as the body's Chief Executive Officer effective Feb. 15, 2022. Lazarus will oversee the implementation of the racetrack safety program July 1, 2022, engage a best-in-class independent enforcement agency to oversee the Authority's Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) program, and work with stakeholders across the U.S. to evaluate and improve both programs on an ongoing basis.

Lazarus established and leads the Equestrian Practice at Morgan Sports Law, where she provides counsel on health and safety issues and rule compliance in addition to representing athletes, owners and trainers in disputes before national and international governing bodies. Prior to joining Morgan Sports Law, she served as General Counsel and later Chief of Business Development & Strategy at the Federation Equestre Internationale, the international governing body for equestrian sports. Prior to her focus on the equine sporting industry, Lazarus spent a decade at the National Football League where she served as the league's Labor Relations Counsel, representing the NFL's 32-member clubs in collective bargaining issues and in contested arbitrations, including anti-doping enforcement matters. She then became Senior Legal Counsel before taking the role of Senior Director of Partner Development for NFL International at their headquarters in London, England. Lazarus began her legal career working as an associate at Akin Gump for four years after graduating from Fordham University School of Law and clerking for a Federal District Court Judge in Memphis, TN.

Added Lazarus: “I look forward to working with the impressive and diverse array of independent and industry experts at HISA to make racing safer and fairer for all. As someone who has worked with the industry over the course of my career, and as a horse lover, I'm honored to be taking on this role.”

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The Week in Review: USADA-HISA Must Settle Their Differences

The announcement that came last week that the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has bowed out and will not become the enforcement agency for the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority couldn't have been worse news for the sport. It was a lump of coal in the stocking at Christmastime. Thanks to the passage of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) racing finally seemed ready to clean up a game where cheating trainers and the use of performance-enhancing drugs is a serious problem. USADA was not only the best choice to take over the policing of the sport. It was the only choice. There is no one else.

With USADA's announcement, HISA is in shambles and picking up the pieces will be a daunting, if not impossible, task. USADA's involvement was the reason so many people were so enthusiastic about HISA's passage. USADA and its CEO Travis Tygart are the gold standard when it comes to anti-doping and they get results. Just ask Lance Armstrong. While it's true that HISA covers other areas and issues, none seem that important at the moment. This was always about bringing in USADA and letting them accomplish what the sport is incapable of doing on its own.

Now what?

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, the group overseeing the implementation of HISA, said, in a press release last week, that it is evaluating options for engagement with other leading independent enforcement agencies. I suppose that's what they had to say, but the statement does not address the realities of the predicament they are in. The statement indicates they will simply move on to Plan B. Except there is no Plan B, no alternative to USADA. And if they somehow do come up with another agency to handle drug testing and enforcement, it's not going to be an entity that has anywhere near the bona fides that USADA does.

There's only one way to solve this mess, and that's a reconciliation between USADA and the Authority.

In their respective press releases, neither USDA nor the Authority gave any indication as to what exactly was the problem that caused a divorce before the two were officially married.

“After months of negotiations, we have been unable to enter an agreement in line with the requirements of the Act, and one which would have given us a reasonable chance to put in place a credible and effective program,” Tygart said in USADA's statement, not exactly answering any of the questions so many now have.

The most likely reasons USADA and the Authority could not come to terms?

It could be about money. It was never going to be cheap to have USADA come in and provide the manpower and expertise needed to police an entire sport, one that has far more competitors and moving parts than even the Olympics. And it was never made clear where the money to pay for USADA was supposed to come from. Tygart might have asked for more than the Authority was willing to pay.

There may have also been a disagreement regarding rules and regulations, what USADA could and could not do. It's easy to see Tygart walking away if there were roadblocks put in his way that he could not accept.

Or it could be something else.

Whatever the reason may have been, Authority Chairman Charles Scheeler and his crew and Tygart and his team need to lock themselves in a room with the understanding that no one can come out until they have reached an agreement that will bring USADA back into the fold. That may mean that it will be the Authority that has to blink first, that it will have to find a way to give Taggart whatever it is that he is looking for. Horse racing needs USADA a lot more than USADA needs racing.

Maybe the relationship between the two is beyond repair and nothing can be done to salvage it, but racing has to try. The alternative is that everything goes back to the status quo and that, without USADA, the bad guys continue to run amok. HISA, without USADA's involvement, becomes so irrelevant that the act might as well be repealed. That depressing possibility should be considered unacceptable by the Authority, The Jockey Club and everyone else who has been trying so hard to bring meaningful change to a sport that needs just that.

There has to be a way. Make it happen.

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Unable To Reach Final Terms: Horseracing Integrity And Safety Authority Suspends Negotiations With USADA

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) announced the suspension of negotiations pertaining to USADA's potential future role as the independent enforcement agency for HISA's Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) program. As mandated by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act of 2020, USADA and HISA had been engaged in good faith negotiations but were unable to reach final terms. To date, USADA has led the process of authoring draft rules for HISA's ADMC program. As set forth in the HISA statute, the Authority is evaluating options for engagement with other leading independent enforcement agencies.

The draft Racetrack Safety regulations that were submitted to the FTC earlier this month will be implemented as scheduled by the FTC on July 1, 2022, following review, public comment and education periods. There will be a temporary delay in submission of the Anti-Doping and Medication Control draft rules to the FTC until a new independent agency can be identified and an agreement finalized. This will allow HISA and another independent enforcement agency to reach an agreement and build on the progress that has been made to-date with USADA. HISA anticipates this process will permit the full implementation of the final ADMC rules in early 2023.

“We are deeply grateful for USADA's hard work, expertise and leadership in working with HISA's Anti-Doping and Medication Committee to develop comprehensive draft rules in a remarkably short period of time,” said HISA Board Chair Charles Scheeler. “HISA will continue our search for an independent enforcement agency to oversee the Medication Control protocols. The Authority will also work with the FTC to ensure the Racetrack Safety Program advances on schedule. When operational, the program will provide critical enhancements to protect the health and safety of equine and human athletes.”

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