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HISA Temporarily Suspends Full Enforcement of Intra-Articular Joint Injection Rules

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) has temporarily suspended full enforcement of its rules surrounding intra-articular joint injections.

Under HISA's rules as written, trainers are prohibited from giving their horse intra-articular joint injections within 14 days prior to the post-time of a race, and within seven days prior to any timed and reported workout.

A violation of these rules could result in a 60-day suspension for the trainer.

According to an announcement dated June 26, the prohibition of such injections within seven days prior to a workout shall be enforced only by making the horse ineligible to race for a period of 30 days. This temporary measure will last until July 15, 2023. HISA had also issued a bulletin to stakeholders on June 23 stating the new policy.

All other provisions of the rule will continue to be enforced.

According to HISA Chief Executive Lisa Lazarus, between 15 and 20 trainers have breached the rule surrounding intra-articular joint injections prior to a workout. The reason HISA decided to temporarily modify its enforcement of the rule was due to confusion among trainers about the specifics of the rules related to workouts, Lazarus added.

“On the workout side, while it was mentioned in the education process, it seems that a lot of trainers just really didn't understand it, and most of the violations we saw were only off by one day,” said Lazarus.

Lazarus added that the temporary modification of enforcement of the rules was deemed the most “fair and equitable” way to proceed “given the number of violations.”

According to Lazarus, there has been only one violation of the rule surrounding intra-articular joint injections prior to a race.

Lazarus said she was unaware which trainers had breached the rule. “That would be a HIWU question,” said Lazarus, pointing to the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit, which oversees implementation of HISA's anti-doping and medication control (ADMC) program.

“When horses are suspended, you'll be able to figure that out,” Lazarus added, pointing to HIWU's “public disclosures” webpage.

The Authority–the non-profit umbrella broadly overseeing implementation of the federal law–has the legal discretion to modify rule enforcement, said Lazarus.

“We can't modify the rules,” she said. “But we can–and we have in the past on the safety rules–decided to not enforce a particular provision of the rule,” said Lazarus.

“This general discretion to not enforce a portion of the rule is we believe within HISA's authority,” she added.

When asked if this was fair to other industry stakeholders facing sanctions as per the rules, Lazarus said that sanctions are still being meted out, even though they are less stringent than the rules require.

“There are a lot of folks who don't like the decisions that we [make]. But it's our job to make tough decisions, and I fully stand behind this decision,” said Lazarus.

When asked if this action was unfair to the owners of the horses in question, Lazarus said that it was ultimately a welfare decision.

“Protecting the horse is always in our view our responsibility,” said Lazarus. “And so, we believe it is not appropriate to allow a horse to race within 30 days of it having the injection.”

Lazarus said that the Authority is not “at this time” considering tweaking the enforcement of other rules on the books.

Daily Racing Form reported that HISA's Anti-Doping and Medication Committee is also considering modifying the sanctions surrounding the 60-day trainer suspension for violating the workout portion of the rule.

“There's a feeling that the sanction may be too high,” Lazarus told the DRF.

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Hospital & Veterinary Management System Launches HISA Integration

Hospital & Veterinary Management System (HVMS) has announced the launch of a software integration with the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA). HISA oversees national, uniform integrity and safety rules for Thoroughbred racing in the United States. In an effort to facilitate ease of reporting, HVMS has worked with HISA to create a software integration that will enhance workflow, reduce duplicate entry of records, and align data to make information flow easier and quicker.

“The integration saves a significant amount of time in the HISA reporting requirements over doing reporting separately in the HISA portal,” said Dr. Scott Hay, DVM, President, Managing Shareholder at TFB Equine. “The biggest gain has been increased efficiencies over working in two different systems. The system is comprehensive and quite easy to use.”

Benefits of the integration include:
· When billing for HISA linked patients, HVMS will prompt for the required HISA information.
· The medical records captured while billing in HVMS can be submitted to HISA through your HVMS software.
· All HISA items billed can then be reviewed and submitted to HISA directly from HVMS.
· HVMS also displays the history of all HISA items submitted and reports their sent status so you can verify each item was received by HISA.
· You will save time every day while using this integration as it omits the need for two points of entry.

“Our goal in working with HISA is to automate the flow of medical records between the veterinarian and HISA to eliminate dual entry of records which saves time and input errors,” said Scott Pickard, President & CEO of Business Infusions. “This outcome has been achieved and we are adding new practices to the integration on a weekly basis.”

“HISA is committed to doing everything we can to make compliance with our safety and integrity rules simple and straightforward for horsemen and veterinarians,” said HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus. “We are therefore delighted that HVMS has integrated with HISA to deliver these efficiencies to their customers who have HISA reporting obligations.”

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Lazarus: No Need to Shut Down Racing at Churchill…At Least for Now

With the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) having called a veterinary summit to try to get to the bottom of what is going on at Churchill Downs, where 12 horses have died since Apr. 27, HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus said Tuesday that she is hopeful some answers will emerge in the days ahead that will help explain the situation. In the meantime, though, she said her group is not ready to recommend that racing be halted at the home of the Kentucky Derby.

“That is one of the things we are trying to determine through this process,” she said when asked about a potential shutdown. “Given that nothing was flagged or clearly a concern from the surface standpoint, that was not an action we thought was necessary or appropriate at this time.”

Of the 12 horses that have died, seven died as the result of musculoskeletal issues while racing on the main track. Another death occurred on the turf course.

Lazarus said that Dr. Mick Peterson, the executive director of Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory, has been to Churchill a number of times over the last month to examine the racing surface and has not uncovered any problems with it. She said additionally that several jockeys and trainers based at Churchill Downs have been interviewed by the HISA team and that none expressed any issues with the track.

“We have been talking extensively to jockeys and to trainers to try to determine if they believe anything is different with the track,” Lazarus said. “What has been so challenging is that I have not had a single jockey or trainer tell me they believe the track is a factor in these fatalities. That's why we have to approach this from different angles and perspectives.”

She said that Dennis Moore, a track consultant and the long-time track superintendent at Santa Anita, has also been brought in to look at the racing surfaces and to be a “second set of expert eyes.”

Should Moore or anyone else brought in to take part in the veterinary summit come up with reasons why Churchill should cease racing, Lazarus said that HISA does not have the authority to force the track to shut down.

“Under the rules, we do not have the authority to make a racetrack stop racing,” she said. “We can deprive the racetrack from being able to send out their simulcasting signal. I can tell you I have had multiple, long conversations with top-ranked executives at Churchill Downs over the weekend and they are really committed to doing the right thing. My strong view is that if we were to make a recommendation to Churchill Downs to shut down racing that they would accept that recommendation.”

In addition to the inspection of the track surface, those taking part in the veterinary summit–a list that includes veterinarians and other experts representing Churchill Downs, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission and HISA–will look at a number of other potential factors that may help explain the cluster of breakdowns. Lazarus said that other issues that will be examined will be veterinary review and veterinary oversight and the possible misuse of medications.

“Because there is no discernable pattern among the fatalities that have occurred at Churchill Downs since late April, veterinary oversight is the most important piece of the puzzle that we have called for,” she said.

It is quite possible that those who have come together under the HISA umbrella to take a look at the rash of breakdowns will not come up with any firm conclusions. Lazarus recognized that that might end up being the case, but she said she was confident that if there are any underlying problems that explain why so many horses have broken down recently at Churchill, the team brought in will find them.

“We have the best people in place with the greatest amount of access and knowledge that are coming together,” she said. “That's why we're having this summit, to make the right decisions going forward. I really trust this group implicitly and that's why I have tasked them with this process. I believe they will come up with the right next steps.”

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HISA To Conduct ‘Emergency Veterinary Summit’ To Address CD Fatalities

With the number of equine fatalities during the current spring meeting at Churchill Downs now up to 12, officials at the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) are convening an 'emergency veterinary summit' to be held Tuesday, May 30, in Kentucky.

“HISA's highest priority is the safety and well-being of the horses and riders competing under its jurisdiction,” a HISA statement released Monday begins. “We remain deeply concerned by the unusually high number of equine fatalities at Churchill Downs over the last several weeks. We continue to seek answers, and we are working diligently with Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) to mitigate any additional risk.”

The Tuesday meeting is expected to bring together the veterinary teams from Churchill Downs, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) and HISA to 'thoroughly review all veterinary information available and conduct additional analysis in hopes of better understanding the events surrounding the recent fatalities.'

HISA is also enlisting the services of noted track superintendent Dennis Moore to provide 'a second and independent' review of the racing and training surfaces at Churchill Downs. The review is scheduled to begin Wednesday, May 31, and HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus and Racetrack Safety Director Ann McGovern will be on site to receive results and analysis and any suggested follow-ups needed.

Dr. Jennifer Durenberger, the director of equine safety and welfare, is also being dispatched to provide additional veterinary expertise and observation to ensure optimal veterinary oversight of the horses.

Following a special Memorial Day program Monday, racing is set to resume at Churchill Thursday, June 1, with a first post of 5 p.m. ET.

Following the 11th and 12th equine fatalities last Friday and Saturday, respectively, officials at Churchill Downs issued a statement of their own, pledging their commitment to pursue answers and solutions to the problem.

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