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ARCI Urges On-Time Implementation Of Horseracing Integrity And Safety Authority

The Board of Directors of the Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI) has unanimously indicated that the delay in HISA implementation suggested last week by the Authority's Chair Charles Scheeler was “not necessary and legally problematic” as the US State racing commissions are all eager to negotiate and finalize agreements with both the Authority and it's Enforcement Agency (assumed to be the United States Anti-Doping Agency).

“The people and organizations that have worked hard to pass the federal legislation have been waiting for ten years for these reforms and we see no reason why HISA and the enforcement agency cannot assume control on July 1, 2022, as required by the law,” said RCI Chair Robert Lopez.

Since late August State racing commissions have participated in fifteen implementation work sessions with both HISA and USADA senior staff. Those meetings were coordinated by the ARCI and the last session occurred early November.

The only missing pieces are how the HISA Authority plans to pay for things and what the additional costs of the Authority and Enforcement Agency will be. Existing program costs are matters of public record in each state and have been provided by the state commissions months ago.

“This is not rocket science,” said RCI President Ed Martin. “The big cost of collecting and testing samples is known in each state. Investigator salaries are known. Prosecutor salaries are known as is the number of cases that come on appeal. What is not known are the HISA/USADA enhancements to the existing system and if nobody has their arms around what they will cost by now it makes one wonder if this entire thing is structured correctly.”

Lopez said the states are eager to work with both HISA and its Enforcement Agency, presumably USADA, to achieve a smooth transition.

“State specific agreements need to be negotiated now and the state racing commissions are ready to begin those talks with both HISA and the Enforcement Agency individually.”

“We have been told that the HISA goal is to preserve as much of the existing public investment as possible to mitigate new costs of expanded integrity on racetracks, owners, breeders, horsemen, veterinarians and fans,” Martin said. “Delaying full implementation agreements as has been suggested only gives external forces more time to shift state support for racing to other areas.”

The ARCI said it was “most likely” that it will avail itself of the opportunity to comment directly to the FTC during the public comment period.

Martin said the initial read of the proposed Racetrack Safety rules were positive compared to previous versions, but that a complete analysis is underway. He also said that the ARCI had a productive meeting in Tucson last week with Travis Tygart and senior leaders from the US Anti-Doping Agency as well as two HISA Board Members, D.G. Van Clief and Dr. Sue Stover the next day.

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ARCI Urges HISA To Find Individual With State Government Experience For Executive Director Position

The Board of the Association of Racing Commissioners International voted unanimously today to urge the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority to select someone with experience and intricate knowledge of US state government operations in order to effectuate a smooth implementation of the reforms embodied in the new US federal law.

“Failure to appoint someone who does not have this level of expertise jeopardizes a successful and timely implementation by July 1, 2021 as required by law. As the implementation is complicated and sensitive as to preserve millions of dollars in public funding for programs that will become the responsibility of the Authority, someone who clearly has experience with the ins and outs of state budgets, operations, public private partnerships, and a familiarity of the US and state governmental processes is absolutely necessary,” said Robert Lopez, ARCI Chair.

The ARCI Board was informed by HISA Directors this morning that they have conducted a worldwide search and that the Authority is seeking to finalize a selection.

The HISA had retained the services of Executive Search firm Russell Reynolds to recruit a replacement for Interim Executive Director Hank Zeitlin. The RCI has been informed that HISA hopes to have someone in the position by the end of January.

At the meeting ARCI President Ed Martin stressed the importance of someone who can hit the ground running as state specific agreements need to be negotiated in order to successfully preserve and leverage the publicly funded infrastructure and not impose an impossible financial burden on owners, trainers, and racetracks.

RCI has expressed concerns that literally tens of millions of dollars in public funding for integrity programs could be jeopardized unless rules were crafted and operational agreements finalized between both the HISA and its Enforcement Agency, which has yet to be put under contract.

“To say we're concerned, is an understatement,” said Martin.

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Letter to the Editor: Hold On, The Ride is About to Begin

There's good news and bad news coming. The good news is that the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act solves the persistent problem of inadequate funding to police the sport. The bad news is that decisions coming soon by the HISA Board may jeopardize millions of dollars of existing public support now allocated for this function.

Collectively the U.S. states invest over $100 million to regulate racing and wagering. That money comes in large part from taxes generated by the industry and fans. Commissions fight every year to ensure that adequate resources are available to do the job. Sometimes they succeed, often they don't.

The law's authors solved this issue by giving HISA authority to self-finance by assessing new fees. The implementation challenge was how to maintain existing state investment and infrastructures to minimize new costs on a sport struggling to compete in a dramatically changing world.

As the details of the proposed new program trickle out from the standing committees, there appears to have been little consideration as to how to maximize things already in place and paid for by the states. Those investigating, prosecuting and adjudicating violations will no longer be paid with public funds. The micromanagement of equine medical directors and regulatory veterinarians may result in shifting responsibilities and costs to racetracks or the HISA itself. And lastly, concerns about undefined but mandated testing program costs are already causing some states to consider privatization to turn it all over to HISA. Note: the states don't fund or do this for other sports.

Since mid-August, the ARCI has quietly held “implementation calls” with HISA and USADA staff for 31 states to identify potential obstacles early that need to be overcome. Additionally, state regulators were not allowed to participate in or even observe the work of the HISA standing committees, a decision that left the development of less costly options to avoid loss of public funding until the last minute as the FTC is eager to receive the formal submission.

Perhaps HISA Chair Charles Scheeler said it best at The Jockey Club's August Roundtable: “This program is going to cost money, and it's going to cost more money than the industry has traditionally allocated for services such as these.” Very true, except that the bulk of the money is not allocated by the industry, but rather by the states who can shift it elsewhere especially if someone else can pay.

Normally, when the federal government partners with a state to operate a program, a financial incentive of matching funds is provided. No such incentive exists here. A growing number of State officials above commissions are asking “What's in it for the State to continue to pay for any of this now that this new entity can pay for it?”

All this is modeled after the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority where that industry has no choice but to comply. That's true here as well, except that HISA authors ignored reality and erroneously defined state commissions as a racing industry constituency. They are not.
HISA has no power to force a state to do something it doesn't have the personnel, money or desire to do, even if the commission is willing. In fact, the more HISA seeks to micromanage and replace rather than improve, the more they push a state to walk and shift existing funding elsewhere to do things like fill potholes.

Only the HISA Board can mitigate the extent to which that happens by what they submit to the FTC. Otherwise, the day the details are released as to how this is paid for and by whom will be remembered as a nuclear blast whose fallout will be felt far and wide by many people who thought all this looked good on paper.

Ed Martin
President, Association of Racing Commissioners International

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ARCI’s Martin Issues Statement on Baffert

The Association of Racing Commissioners International (RCI) is an umbrella organization of the official governing rule-making bodies for professional horse racing and for decades, has helped establish international standards for racing regulation, medication policy and drug testing labs, among other responsibilities. The organization's president Ed Martin issued a statement on the positive betamethasone test returned on GI Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit (Protonico) and the comments made by his trainer Bob Baffert. The statement, in its entirety, reads as follows:

As I watched Bob Baffert denying any knowledge of how an illegal drug got into his Kentucky Derby horse, the scene from Casablanca where Captain Renault denies any knowledge of the existence of gambling in Rick's Cafe comes to mind.

“I am shocked that there is betamethasone in my horse.”

Hmmm. Then just as in Shakespeare when the lady doth protest too much, the usual claims are made when such questions arise: I don't know how it got there; I didn't do it; my records prove me innocent; the lab is too sensitive; it doesn't affect performance; it was contamination; the rules are wrong.

As the facts now stand, the substance was in the horse at a level it should not have been. The Kentucky [Horse Racing] Commission is investigating and will take appropriate action based on the facts of the case as they develop.

But I can say this as someone who had to investigate such matters, if there was contamination, other horses will also trip the wire. The “only my horse was contaminated” claim usually doesn't stand up. Complaining about picograms doesn't either, as today's sensitivity of the lab is a good thing. And let's be blunt, some substances have an enormous effect at a minute level.

Claims that this won't affect the performance of the horse in the race miss one of the main points of the rule. It's not just about whether something can make a horse run faster, but also if the masking of pain or injury might put the horse at risk. Collectively, the more stringent rules are helping reduce breakdowns.

Maybe Mr. Baffert truly has no idea how the drug got in his horse. But it was there based upon everything we know. He is the responsible trainer, not only for his horse, but everyone who works for him and the vets he uses.

Most horses tested come back clear, even with the uber- sensitive capabilities of the lab that Mr. Baffert decries. I prefer to trust the Kentucky investigation to unearth the pertinent facts.

As far as cancel culture is concerned, I have no idea what the hell he is talking about.

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