The Annual Meeting of the Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI) convened Wednesday in Columbus, Ohio, in the midst of an evolving regulatory structure for Thoroughbred racing and great uncertainty for what the future may hold.

Outgoing Chair Tom Sage, the retiring Executive Director of the Nebraska Racing and Gaming Commission, gaveled the meeting to order saying, “One thing is certain, change is inevitable.   Whether the change is good or not so good, we shall see.  Regardless, the agencies that regulate this sport will adapt and continue to be independent voices for animal welfare and integrity in sport.”

A packed agenda will focus discussions on equine welfare and the work of the AAEP Racing Committee as well as HISA's racetrack safety program and what Dr. Sue Stover is learning from the data HISA collects. There will also be panels on challenges facing the testing labs, racing investigators, as well as the pressing need for equine aftercare.

The economic future of racing will be discussed in the context of a panel that will focus on how racing might benefit from the growth of sports betting. Projects currently in the works as well as ideas not yet tried will be discussed.

The attendees will be asked to explore the two distinctly different worlds of anti-doping in sport, those sports where Therapeutic Use Exemptions allow athletes to train and compete after being administered a medication that ARCI Model Rules (and the new HISA rules) do not allow and horse racing which does not permit TUE's.

“Human sports have decided that certain administrations are necessary to safeguard the health of their athletes with a documented medical need,” ARCI President Ed Martin explained. “Those betting and participating in those sports are just as sensitive as to how they perform in competition as those in horseracing are. They claim these drugs, although they can affect performance, do not permit the athlete to perform beyond their natural ability.

“We have never discussed this topic and nothing is being proposed, but in an environment where our primary focus is on the health of our horses, are there issues here that we collectively have never considered?” he explained.

The ARCI will also elect Board Members for the coming year and Commissioner Doug Moore of Washington will assume the Chairmanship of the Association on Friday.   The newly formed Board will also elect a Chair-elect who will automatically become Chair next year.

More information on the meeting can be found at the ARCI website.

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But what does a “'bounce” really mean? It refers to a horse that had a recent fast performance, several tough races in a short period or many races in a racing campaign. The handicapper is implicitly (and unknowingly) using basic biology to posit that a given horse did not have enough time to recuperate before the next race. But what if this notion of “bounce” has more serious implications beyond performance intersecting with that of safety? Well, apparently it does.

After the deaths at Santa Anita in 2019, I began to observe the records of horses that had catastrophic injuries. A certain number seemed to be horses whose racing and training schedule appeared excessive. While it is impossible to say with certainty that over-racing was the case individually, I surmised it had to be one factor in catastrophic injury in the aggregate. Now HISA apparently is looking at this angle regarding horse safety. In its, 2023 Equine Fatalities: HISA's Strategic Response under “data analysis,” it asks, “Would a maximum number of high-speed furlongs (published works and races) either lifetime or within a rolling period reduce equine injury?” The issue is finally on the table in racing's most significant institution.

Dr. Sue Stover, chair of the HISA Racetrack Safety Committee, goes well beyond what handicappers have noticed in their “bounce” notion only to prognosticate a poor performance for a horse. Dr. Stover in the Spring 2023 Churchill Downs Equine Fatalities: HISA Findings under the category “high speed exercise analysis,” concluded–after comparing the Churchill deaths to the control group- -that (indeed) the deceased horses had more races per year and that the data coincides with the notion that, “frequent high injury exercise (as observed in injured horses) that does not allow for recovery of exercise-induced microdamage contributes to the development of stress fractures and subchondral stress which presupposes horses to catastrophic injuries.” Dr. Stover is based at UC Davis and their veterinary webpage regarding catastrophic injuries to racehorses includes “training intensity” as a risk factor.  Thus, from Dr. Stover's remarks, the science on thoroughbred injury has already progressed to a point where the new (Churchill) data is being amalgamated with existing hypotheses.

The notion that with the recent deaths at Saratoga and Churchill Downs there is no one risk factor in common does not mean that several risk factors are not known. The industry has come a long way since 2019 and many risk factors or pre-existing conditions are known including the over-racing of horses.

I do not want to mention individual horses as it is impossible to know with certainty in any single case whether a horse's racing and training schedule was the main culprit in a breakdown. Too often, in my view, trainers are being cast as “bad guys” and that's too easy a way to address industry wide problems in relation to safety. And my point is not to prove this notion as it is already part of the science on racing injury.

I wish merely to bring the issue out from the shadows to be part of a necessary discussion on horse safety. But I will relate a few high-profile examples of a horse's racing schedule in horses that broke down in top races dating back to 2019 without mentioning the name of the horse.

• Horse A had 13 races in 11 months and broke down in a grade 1 race,
• Horse B had 10 races in 12 months mostly at the grade 1 level and died after a workout,
• Horse C raced 11 times in 10 months breaking down in a grade 3 stakes,
• Horse D had 4 races in 4 ½ months moving up into a grade 1 with less than a month off.

There are other high and low-profile examples and again HISA, in their report, summarizes the horse's racing schedule as part of their analysis. Of course, many horses can handle a tough schedule–there is genetic variation in any species. Nonetheless, the over-racing of a horse is one risk factor that has to be addressed in any overall plan regarding horse safety. It intersects with other issues like medication: rest versus therapy.

Why this factor of over-racing a horse has been understated in recent discussion of horse fatalities until now is due, I suspect, to the implications on possible restrictions for the scheduling of a horse's campaign. It may mean limiting the number of starts per horse per racing level, age, etc. It obviously casts a doubt about the spacing of racing's greatest event: The Triple Crown.

Yes, I support 1/ST Racing's Aidan Butler's efforts to move the Preakness date because of the safety issue alone. Yes, it would be a tough go to factor in a horse's schedule regarding an overall safety plan for thoroughbred racing. But if the horse racing industry is going to completely address the issue of safety, the over-racing of horses (not the racing but the over-racing of a horse) needs to be looked at. There is not a good alternative to not do so.

–Armen Antonian Ph.D.

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Here are some takeaways from the day's presentations and discussions, which included four segments focused on HISA, a keynote address from new National Thoroughbred Racing Associations president and CEO Tom Rooney, and a high-powered panel featuring the top executives of four major racetrack organizations: 1/ST Racing (The Stronach Group), Del Mar, Keeneland and the New York Racing Association.

HISA Drug Testing Will Be Phased In

Charles Scheeler, the chairman of HISA, outlined the progress the organization has made during a very compressed timeline from passage of the legislation in December 2020 until its mandated launch July 1. A board of directors and chairman was named in May 2021, interim staff including a CEO was hired in July, when meetings and collaboration with the presumed enforcement arm, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), began. In September, stakeholder talks started, along with meetings with current state regulators. HISA presented its draft of proposed safety regulations to the FTC on the eve of the Symposium. It requested and received a waiver from the FTC to delay submission of proposed anti-doping and medication policies for at least 10 days (until Dec. 16). Draft anti-doping/medication regulations shared with industry organizations were met with considerable feedback. The FTC will conduct public register review in January and February and the rules must be approved by March 1 – four months in advance of HISA's launch.

Scheeler said the final regulations approved “will not be perfect” or “written in stone.”

When HISA does begin operations on July 1, it will only conduct out-of-competition testing, leaving post-race testing and adjudication of any violations from those tests in the hands of the state racing commissions for the rest of the year. Scheeler said HISA would take over post-race testing on Jan. 1, 2023. HISA would adjudicate any violations detected from out-of-competition tests.

Scheeler said HISA also hopes to work with racing commissions when it begins post-race testing to use existing personnel for race-day blood and urine collections, adding that if something isn't broken HISA is not interested in fixing it.

Technology And Big Data Will Be Critical

Scheeler and Dr. Susan Stover, a HISA board member and chair of the Racetrack Safety Committee, spoke about the importance of technology and data to HISA's success. The “transformational database” referred to by Scheeler would include information on both covered persons and covered horses and provide trainers and owners an interface to report whenever a horse's location changes, an important component for out-of-competition testing.

Stover, whose breakthrough research at the University of California-Davis has led to greater understanding of injury prevention, said the opportunity to collect comprehensive data is extremely important for racing to reduce the rate of fatal or serious injuries and for the sport to maintain what she called its Social License to Operate (SLO) with the public.

Stover pointed out that the United States has in recent years reduced its rate of fatal injuries per thousand starts by 40% but still has a rate higher than in the United Kingdom, Australia/New Zealand and Hong Kong. “We have work to do,” she said.

Dr. Sue Stover (right) and Ann McGovern

Fatalities aren't the only concern to Stover, who said 3% of horses at the tracks are taken out of training each month, an attrition rate she estimated costs nearly $82 million to horse owners every month.

Some form of pre-existing condition was detected in almost 90% of fatally injured horses she has examined over the years, Stover said. Factors that led to increased risk included corticosteroid injections, recent lameness and abnormalities in pre-race exams. Stover said data collected on training intensity (speed works at longer distances) may help HISA develop best training practices, especially for horses coming off layoffs.

Racetrack accreditations by HISA will be phased in, with tracks currently accredited by the NTRA getting an interim three-year accreditation with HISA, provided they make good faith efforts in certain areas and adhere to data reporting requirements.

Ann McGovern, a racetrack safety committee member, said in response to a question from the audience that tracks that fail to be accredited will lose their ability to conduct interstate wagering.

HISA/USADA Price Tag Remains a Mystery

Scheeler said HISA was not yet in position to submit a budget for HISA operations, in part because it does not have a contract with USADA. Costs, he said, would also depend in part on how things are worked out with state racing commissions. “It will cost money,” Scheeler said, “but this is an investment.” He compared the industry's failure to advance safety and anti-doping programs to bridges and roads crumbling because of the lack of infrastructure investment. Some of that investment will be in what Scheeler described as a “powerful and rigorous investigation program” similar to the 5Stones Investigations unit hired by The Jockey Club that investigated many of the trainers, veterinarians and drug suppliers who were indicted on federal charges in March 2020.

In a separate panel, Ed Martin, president of the Association of Racing Commissioners International, said language in the bill that created HISA was flawed because it does not require state racing commissioners to help with funding. “They made a mistake with this bill,” said Martin. “They allowed the states to walk away.” Martin suggested that state budget directors will withdraw funding for horse racing regulations and drug testing once they find out they aren't required to help fund HISA.

Therapeutic Medication List Still Being Developed

A group that included Adolpho Birch, HISA board member and chair of the Anti-Doping and Medication Control Committee, reviewed how medication violations will be adjudicated, separating primary (most serious) and secondary (therapeutic) drug positives.

Jeff Cook, general counsel for USADA, said a goal will be to adjudicate cases more quickly: four weeks when doping violations for secondary medications are challenged and eight weeks for primary drugs. A national stewards panel will adjudicate the secondary cases with an arbitrator used for the more serious violations. Cases can also be appealed to an FTC administrative law judge.

Two notable changes from the current process are that split samples would not go to a lab of the trainer's choosing and public disclosure of complaints may come as soon as the trainer is notified.

Birch, general counsel for the Tennessee Titans, served previously as the NFL's top anti-doping officials and helped draft the league's drug policies. Birch said the NFL was struggling with controlling the widespread use of performance-enhancing drugs, with some players dying from drugs and others feeling the need to cheat to compete. “If we didn't change,” he said, “the sport was going to suffer irreparably.”

Dr. Tessa Muir, USADA's director of equine science, said the HISA Anti-Doping and Medication Control Committee is still in the process of drafting a therapeutic medication list and screening limits for those drugs.

Mr. Rooney Goes Back To Washington

In his keynote address – his first as NTRA president and CEO – former Florida Congressman Tom Rooney said his mission will be to represent the horse industry in Washington, D.C., where he served five terms in the House of Representatives, from 2009-'19.

Rooney succeeds Alex Waldrop, who served as NTRA chief executive for 15 years. Waldrop was honored on Tuesday by the Race Track Industry Program with the Clay Puett Award for outstanding contributions to the industry.

From a family that owns the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers and has been involved in Thoroughbred, Standardbred and Greyhound racing, Rooney brings a solid resume to the position. As a former member of Congress, he understands how important it is to have an industry representative in the nation's capital.

That's never more important than today, he said, referencing high profile events like the sudden death of Medina Spirit, the first-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby, and the fact that “our opponents have not gone away and they never, ever will go away.”

Incoming NTRA president and CEO Tom Rooney

Rooney's family owns the Palm Beach Kennel Club in Florida, where Greyhound racing was recently eliminated in a state-wide vote.

Rooney said he will work to support a smooth transition to HISA, help racing benefit from sports betting and maintain favorable tax benefits for horse owners.

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The audio of this entire Board meeting is available on the CHRB Website (www.chrb.ca.gov) under the Webcast link. In brief:

• The Board approved three license applications for race meets, beginning with the Sonoma County Fair (SCF) meet, which will be run at Golden Gate Fields (GGF) on August 6, 7, 8, 13, 14, and 15. SCF will be required to run Arabian races during the meet in compliance with statutes. In a related matter, the Board approved an agreement between SCF and the Thoroughbred Owners of California authorizing the racing secretary to establish conditions on races limiting the administrations of certain medications.
• The Board approved the license application for the Pacific Racing Association (PRA) to conduct a thoroughbred meet at Golden Gate Fields with racing commencing August 26 and running through October 3. As one condition, Golden Gate must provide its race signals and access to its wagering pools to all simulcast outlets in California. Additionally, Golden Gate and the California Thoroughbred Trainers must enter into a race-meet agreement before the August 18 Board meeting.
• The Board approved the license application for the Humboldt County Fair to operate a fair meet in Ferndale on August 20, 21, 22, 27, 28, and 29.
• The Board set a January 31, 2022, date for San Luis Rey Downs (SLRD) to complete installation of its sprinkler system, though management expects work to completed by late December. SLRD has a fire clearance and complies with all local fire regulations.
• Executive director Scott Chaney reported a full 50 percent reduction in the number of total training, racing, and other fatalities over the last two fiscal years. In furtherance of the CHRB's safety efforts, he pointed out that Dr. Jeff Blea assumed the role of equine medical director and Dr. Tim Grande assumed the role of chief official veterinarian on July 1, and noted, “Both Drs. Blea and Grande are accomplished veterinarians and have a specific understanding regarding veterinary medicine's intersection with the regulatory arena and the promotion of animal welfare.  In the three weeks they have been on the job, I have found both to be engaged, enthusiastic and committed.”
• Dr. Blea reported that California will be well represented in industry oversight under the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA). Dr. Sue Stover, director of the J.D. Wheat Veterinary Orthopedic Research Laboratory at the University of California, Davis, sits on HISA's governing board and also chairs its Racetrack Safety Standing Committee, while Dr. Blea is a member of HISA's Anti-Doping and Medication Control Standing Committee. Dr. Blea also reported that entry review panels, first established in 2019 at Santa Anita Park at the direction of Gov. Gavin Newsom to ensure that entered horses are fit to compete, now are in place at all tracks and that he and Dr. Grande are reviewing their processes to make them more efficient and standardized in the future.
• The Board approved a regulation establishing rules for public participation at meetings, which largely reflect the procedures that have been in place, including limiting each unsolicited speaker to two minutes on each agenda item.
• The Board approved an agreement with horse-racing-industry stakeholders modifying the distribution of Advance Deposit Wagering market access fees to supplement funding for CHRB support. The Board then approved the Fiscal Year 2021-22 agreement providing funding support for the CHRB.
• The Board approved the change of ownership for the mini-satellite California Horse Racing & Sports, LLC, doing business as The Derby Room.
• Public comments made during the meeting can be accessed through the meeting audio archive on the CHRB website.

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The most common fatal injury in racehorses in the United States, PSB fractures account for 45-50 percent of such injuries in Thoroughbreds, and 37-40 percent in racing Quarter Horses. The PSBs are two comparatively small bones located in the fetlock that act as part of the suspensory apparatus. Fractures in these bones are likely due to the accumulation of repeated, stress-related processes. This is supported by evidence that racehorses in intensive training are at higher risk for PSB fractures, but the exact causes are not well understood.

Other repetitive overuse injuries in horses are known to be bilateral in nature, meaning that they are similar on both sides of the horse, with the more severely affected limb usually incurring the fracture. With this in mind, the study looked at both the fractured PSB and the intact PSB from the opposing limb of the same horse for all of the cases. The researchers hypothesized that horses with PSB fractures would also show evidence of stress in the PSB of the opposite limb and that the bone that sustained the break would show more severe changes than the intact bone.

The results showed that 90 percent of fractured PSBs from the cases had visible discoloration on the surface of the fracture, most commonly (70 percent of the time) in a characteristic crescent pattern. Directly below the cartilage, evidence of bone loss was noted in 70 percent of cases. This bone loss was located in the same region as the discolorations. Fractured PSBs had lower bone volume fraction and tissue mineral density within the lesion sites than comparable locations in opposing limbs and controls. These regions were contiguous with the fracture lines. Evidence of microdamage was also observed in fractured PSBs.

Overall, changes identified in the bones were more numerous in case horses than control horses and more severe in the fractured limbs than the opposing limbs in cases. Sampling from areas of bone distant from the lesions noted no significant differences in bones from case and control horses other than the presence of a lesion.

This data supports the role of microdamage and tissue remodeling in the formation of lesions in PSBs. It is important to note that all of the horses in this study were California racehorses, so it is currently unknown if the results will apply equally to racehorses in other areas. Future studies with larger sample sizes may provide further information.

Understanding the mechanism of PSB fracture is necessary in order to determine risk factors and prevent fractures. Combining this information with advanced technology, such as the recent introduction of positron emission tomography (PET scan) may facilitate identification of horses at risk for PSB fracture and inform management alterations to avoid injury.

* This work was supported with funding from the Grayson Jockey Club Research Foundation, Inc., the UC Davis Center for Equine Health, the Maury Hull Fellowship, and the Louis R. Rowan Fellowship.

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