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HISA’s Lasix Advisory Committee Set

Edited Press Release

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) announced the members of an Advisory Committee which has been convened to oversee a three-year study on the use of furosemide (also known as “Lasix”) on horses during the 48-hour period before the start of a Covered Horserace, including the effect on equine health and the integrity of competition.

The establishment of this Advisory Committee for the study of furosemide administration and the requirements of the study are specifically mandated and set forth in the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act. The HISA Board of Directors delegated its authority to select the Advisory Committee members to HISA's Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Committee who did so based on the members' relevant expertise. The Advisory Committee will oversee the process of issuing a Request for Proposal to conduct the research, reviewing grant applications from academic researchers and allocating grant funding for the study.

When the independent scientific research has been completed and published, it will be presented to the Advisory Committee who will then relay the findings and their recommendations to the HISA Board of Directors.

The Furosemide Advisory Committee is comprised of the following members:

Emma Adam, DVM, Ph.D., is a veterinarian with over 24 years of racing experience in the United States, United Kingdom, France and Australia. She is board-certified in equine medicine from Texas A&M University and in surgery from the New Bolton Center at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Adam also received her Ph.D. in musculoskeletal science from the University of Kentucky's Gluck Equine Research Center.
Alan Foreman is Chairman of the Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association (THA) and Vice-Chairman of the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium (RMTC). Foreman is considered one of the leading racing law and equine attorneys in the United States and is an expert on medications used in horse racing.
Scott Hay, DVM, is a veterinarian at Teigland, Franklin and Brokken, where he focuses on lameness, performance evaluations and purchase examinations. He also serves on the RMTC's Scientific Advisory Committee. Dr. Hay previously served as President of the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) and as a member of the Grayson-Jockey Club's Scientific Advisory Committee.
Ted Hill, VMD, is a racing steward for The Jockey Club with more than 23 years of experience. He previously served as Chief Veterinarian for the New York Racing Association (NYRA). Dr. Hill received his VMD from the University of Pennsylvania.
Rob Holland, DVM, Ph.D., is a respiratory and infectious disease specialist in Lexington, Kentucky and partner at Holland Management Services, Inc., a consulting practice offering solutions in outcomes research and veterinary medicine. Dr. Holland has worked with the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) and is an expert in equine drug testing processes.
Heather Knych, DVM, Ph.D., DACVCP, is a Professor of Clinical Veterinary Pharmacology and Head of the Pharmacology Section at the K.L. Maddy Equine Analytical Chemistry Pharmacology Laboratory at the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of California, Davis. Dr. Kynch is board-certified in Clinical Veterinary Pharmacology and has an extensive publication record in the areas of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. She received her DVM and Ph.D. in Pharmacology and Toxicology from the University of California, Davis, where she also conducted her residency in Veterinary Pharmacology.
Ryan Murphy is the Executive Director for the Partnership for Clean Competition (PCC), the leading anti-doping research organization dedicated to the protection of clean athletes. Prior to joining the PCC, Murphy served as Program Officer with the Sports Diplomacy division at the U.S. Department of State and prior to that as Senior Manager for Sport & Competition for Special Olympics International. Murphy has also worked as an International Doping Control Officer for International Doping Tests & Management. In addition to his work at the PCC, Murphy serves as an Adjunct Professor for the Sports Industry Management Master's program at Georgetown University.
Foster Northrop, DVM, is a practicing racetrack veterinarian with more than 35 years of industry experience. He has served on the boards of the KHRC and American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), as well as the RMTC's Scientific Advisory Committee.
Scott Palmer, VMD, is a former President of the AAEP and the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners (ABVP). He also chaired the New York Task Force for Racehorse Health and Safety from 2011 to 2013 and served as a clinician and referral surgeon at the New Jersey Equine Clinic for 38 years. He is currently a member of the RMTC's Scientific Advisory Committee, the Horseracing Testing Laboratory Committee, the Association of Racing Commissioners International's (ARCI) Drug Testing and Standards Committee and the ARCI's Equine Welfare and Veterinarians Committee.
N. Edward Robinson, BVetMed, Ph.D., is a nationally recognized veterinarian, academic and researcher who spent nearly 50 years at Michigan State University's College of Veterinary Medicine, during which he spent more than 20 years as the Matilda R. Wilson Professor of Large Animal Clinical Sciences. Dr. Robinson has spent his career researching lung disease in horses. He received his veterinary degree from the Royal Veterinary College in London and a Ph.D. from University of California, Davis.
Corinne Sweeney, DVM (HIWU Appointment), is an American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM) specialist and has spent the past 44 years at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. She has served as a member of the Pennsylvania State Horse Racing Commission since 2008 and previously served as Chair of the ARCI in 2019. She is a certified Organizational Ombuds Practitioner and has served as the Penn Vet Ombuds since 2015.

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KHRC Planning to Hire Safety Steward

The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) is hiring a Safety Steward to oversee safety procedures and ensure compliance of both Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) and KHRC standards and rules at licensed Thoroughbred racetracks and training centers. While the duties of the Safety Steward are currently being performed by KHRC staff, the creation of this new position puts a focus on safety protocols, establishes a lead position for safety compliance and ensures that information is being shared across all parties involved.

The executive level position will monitor daily activities both in the barn areas and on the racetrack. Some duties include:

Monitoring for compliance with therapeutic and race-day medication regulations and reporting any observation of an unsound horse to regulatory and track veterinarians;
Evaluating horse entries for drop in race class, poor performance, number of starts over a rolling eight-week period, veterinary treatment(s) and reporting any potential risk factors to the Board of Stewards for consideration to scratch;
Conducting pre-meet racetrack safety inspections with track maintenance personnel, including working with outriders to monitor compliance with racetrack rules during morning training, monitoring starting gate procedures, and monitoring ambulance and medical personnel protocols for horse and riders;
Assisting the state steward with Trainer Examinations, and during steward hearings;
Serving as a member of the Morality Review Board; and
Conducting random inspections at racetracks and training centers to monitor regulatory and safety compliance.

The safety steward will also make recommendations to racetrack management and regulators for the welfare of horses and riders, integrity of racing and compliance with horse racing laws and regulations.

For more information and to apply for the position of Executive Advisor (Safety Steward), visit Kentucky's Personnel website, or KHRC.ky.gov.

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KHRC Update on Churchill’s Horse Fatalities

On the heels of both the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) and Churchill Downs updating horsemen and the public Thursday on actions taken regarding the 12 equine deaths since Apr. 27 at the Louisville oval, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) issued an update of their own Friday afternoon outlining investigative actions already taken and planned to be taken in the future. The statement, which originated from the Commonwealth of Kentucky Public Protection Cabinet, appears in its entirety below:

“The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) takes the safety of all racing participants very seriously. The increased number of horse fatalities in Kentucky is concerning and the KHRC's veteran team continues to explore every known variable that could possibly be contributing factors in these deaths.

“Working daily with Churchill Downs and the Horseracing Safety Authority (HISA), the KHRC has taken the following actions:

Opened an investigation into every horse fatality
Interviewed jockeys, trainers, owners, grooms and backside workers regarding safety concerns and observations
Increased pre-race scrutiny on every horse for racing soundness
Participated in roundtable discussions with Churchill Downs' veterinary team, track superintendents and track executives looking for any recurring factor in the incidents.
Reached out to California Horse Racing Board Executive Director Scott Chaney for best practices in the event of a rash of equine fatalities
Participated in the HISA emergency summit and shared details of daily workouts, investigative interviews
Created an executive-level safety steward position to coordinate daily track safety measures. Job details will be posted at KHRC.ky.gov when available.

“Out of an abundance of caution and effective June 7, 2023, Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund purses will be limited to first through fifth place finishers.

“All investigations opened after Apr. 29, 2023 are ongoing, but so far have not identified a common variable between these recent fatalities. The KHRC has not received necropsy reports from the University of Kentucky for any horse fatality after May 2, 2023. Once necropsies are completed and blood analysis is returned, the KHRC veterinary team takes a comprehensive look at all known factors that contributed to that death and compiles those results in a mortality review. As these reviews are completed, they will be made public and posted to the KHRC website at https://khrc.ky.gov/new_docs.aspx?cat=30&menuid=30

“Each completed mortality review will be shared with HISA for further review and recommendations.

“On June 2, 2022, the KHRC entered a voluntary agreement with HISA that grants them authority to oversee racetrack safety. On Mar. 21, 2023, KHRC entered a voluntary agreement with HISA's Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Program.

“With these agreements in effect, the KHRC has authority to suspend a license for any violation that threatens the integrity of Kentucky horse racing or the KHRC's ability to protect the racing public except where HISA has preempted state regulations in the areas of 1) track safety, and 2) anti-doping and medication control (“ADMC”). If a track had violations related to either of these areas, HISA would have jurisdiction.”

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HISA Issues Churchill Downs Update

After 12 horses suffered fatal injuries at Churchill Downs in the last five weeks, prompting the Louisville track to announce new safety initiatives Thursday, the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) issued an update on the situation. The HISA statement appears below in its entirety:

Over the past several days, the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) has undertaken multiple measures to better understand the circumstances surrounding the recent spate of equine fatalities at Churchill Downs in hopes of working with the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) and Churchill Downs to mitigate additional risk to the horses and riders competing at Churchill Downs moving forward.

On Tuesday, May 30, HISA convened a Veterinary Summit with its counterparts at Churchill Downs and the KHRC to thoroughly review all veterinary information available and conduct additional analyses. Those discussions continued through yesterday with ongoing engagement between the veterinary teams. Specifically, the Summit included robust discussion of three different points of intervention with regard to racing injuries: 1) injury management, 2) preventing at-risk horses from racing via veterinary scrutiny, and 3) preventing at-risk horses from entering.

The dialogue was productive and conclusions from the Summit have been shared directly with key stakeholders to inform next steps. While no obvious or specific pattern emerged, HISA welcomes Churchill Downs' efforts announced earlier today to minimize risk of equine fatalities and is implementing the following additional measures:

Effective with Saturday's entries, HISA's Director of Equine Safety and Welfare will conduct an additional layer of post-entry screening. HISA's rule 2142 (Assessment of Racing Soundness) requires post-entry screenings of previous pre-Race inspection findings of entered Horses to identify Horses that may be at increased risk for injury. The review includes past performances, lay-ups (more than 60 days without a timed Workout or Race), last 30 days medical history, previous injury and lameness diagnostics, intraarticular corticosteroid injections, previous surgery and other individual Horse risk factors.
HISA has directed the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) to collect blood and hair samples for all fatalities involving Covered Horses. The results from such collections will be used to facilitate investigations into the cause of such fatalities. The data collected by HIWU in connection with Covered Horse fatalities will also be used to track relevant statistics and trends in connection with fatalities.
HISA has appointed Dr. Alina Vale, an equine forensics specialist, to conduct an additional thorough review of all necropsies performed on Covered Horses. Dr. Vale has conducted several postmortem reviews as an official veterinarian for the California Horse Racing Board, including participating in the review following a spate of equine fatalities at Santa Anita in 2019.

Additionally, Dennis Moore began his analysis of Churchill Downs' racing and training surfaces yesterday. That review is ongoing; Moore's conclusions will be shared publicly once his review is complete.

HISA continues to urgently seek additional answers to more clearly identify the causes of these recent fatalities as well as tangible interventions to prevent them in the future. All options remain on the table, and HISA will continue to vigilantly monitor events at Churchill Downs moving forward.

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