HISA Releases Annual Metrics Report

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority's 2023 annual metrics report shows advances in the implementation of national uniform practices, the building up of the HISA Portal, which contains a broad spectrum of equine treatment and other health records, and driving collaboration and cooperation across the industry, the organization said in a release Wednesday.

“Our inaugural annual report reflects our journey toward a safer, fairer and more resilient future for horse racing,” said HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus. “The success of HISA's programs relies on steady partnership among the tracks, trainers, riders, owners, veterinarians and state regulators who comprise the sport. Only by working together can we make Thoroughbred racing safer for its equine and human athletes.”

The Annual Metrics Report provides stakeholders with key data collected in 2023 at 50 racetracks in 20 states as part of HISA's Racetrack Safety Program, which went into effect July 1, 2022.

Highlights of the report include: accreditation visits to 21 tracks last year; creation of a centralized online database of horses and people involved in the sport, enabling treatment records and other information to be accessed by racetracks and officials across the country; a racing participant registration, which as of Dec. 31, 2023, had registered approximately 33,000 Covered Persons, 55,000 Covered Horses and 1,000 veterinarians actively involved in the daily and specialized care of equine athletes.

Other highlights from the report:

Racetracks operating under HISA's rules reported 1.23 racing-related equine fatalities per 1,000 starts in 2023. That rate is down from the rate reported by The Jockey Club in its Equine Injury Database (EID) in 2022 (1.25 per 1,000 starts) and is lower than the national rate reported in The Jockey Club's 2023 EID (1.32 per 1,000 starts).

The Jockey Club's 2023 EID also shows that non-HISA tracks reported a rate of 1.63 racing-related equine fatalities per 1,000 starts.

In 2023, HISA reported 4.40 crop rule violations per 1,000 starts, which is down from 5.09 violations per 1,000 starts in 2022.

To read the complete report, click here.

The Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit (HIWU) is expected to release a separate annual report detailing metrics from the Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Program soon.

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HISA Submits Proposed Racetrack Safety Rule Changes to FTC for Approval

Edited Press Release

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) has submitted proposed rule changes to its Racetrack Safety Program to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for review. A red-lined document noting these proposed changes is available here. The FTC will subsequently post the proposed rules to the public register for public comment.

Until changes to the rules are approved by the FTC, the previously approved version of HISA's Racetrack Safety rules, which took effect July 1, 2022, will remain in place. Those rules are available in full on HISA's Regulations Page.

HISA's proposed changes to the Racetrack Safety rules were developed after months of dialogue with and feedback from racing participants across the country, including HISA's Horsemen's Advisory Group. During this time, the proposed rules were shared with industry members for two rounds of informal comments and published on HISA's website for additional industry input. All in, HISA's Racetrack Safety Committee received, reviewed and considered more than 600 comments from racing participants. The proposed changes submitted to the FTC today were reviewed and approved by HISA's Racetrack Safety Committee and full Board of Directors.

When and if these rule changes are approved by the FTC, HISA will undertake robust educational efforts to ensure horsemen nationwide are fully aware of these changes and well-equipped to comply with them before they go into effect.

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Laurel’s Training Schedule Adjusted for Track Maintenance

The Maryland Jockey Club outlined a change in the training schedule at Laurel to accommodate a maintenance project on the main track. Expected to take a week, depending on weather. the project is scheduled to begin Tuesday, Aug. 23. According to MJC Track Superintendent Chris Bosley, the work involves a section of the homestretch that was repaired in the fall of 2021. An inspection that was part of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority's Racetrack Safety Program, which began July 1, determined that the area requires further review. Racing at Laurel concludes Aug. 21, with live racing taking place at the Maryland State Fair at Timonium for two weeks before moving to Pimlico for three weeks. During the project, the MJC will reimburse shipping costs for horses that travel to Pimlico for workouts only.

SCHEDULE

TUESDAY, AUG. 23: Training from 5-9 a.m. with one break from 7-7:30 a.m.

 

WEDNESDAY, AUG. 24 – THURSDAY, AUG. 25: No training -maintenance project begins.

 

FRIDAY, AUG. 26 – SUNDAY, AUG. 28: Dogs will be set up around the track for horses to gallop the right way only with no backing up, no joggers and no free ponying. Normal training hours of 5:30-10:30 a.m. will be in place. Gate schooling, standing only, no breaking.

 

MONDAY, AUG. 29: Dogs will still be up with galloping the right way only with no backing up, no joggers and no free ponying. Training hours will be 5-9 a.m. with one break from 7-7:30 a.m.

 

TUESDAY, AUG. 30: The entire track will be available for horses with regular training hours of 5:30-10:30 a.m., but workouts won't be permitted.

 

WEDNESDAY, AUG. 31: The track will be open for regular training hours of 5:30-10:30 a.m. with workouts permitted.

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HISA Appeals Injunction, But Judge Says No to Reversing Earlier Order

In the aftermath of a federal judge's ruling earlier this week that will keep the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) rules from going into effect in Louisiana and West Virginia while a lawsuit challenging those regulations is pending, the HISA Authority responded Friday with a series of legal actions that attempt to both reverse and clarify that injunction order.

The most significant of the July 29 filings from the HISA Authority defendants was a notice that they are appealing Judge Terry Doughty's July 26 decision to grant a preliminary injunction to the plaintiffs, who are led by the states of Louisiana and West Virginia, plus the Jockeys' Guild. This new appeal will be heard by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

At the same time, HISA asked Doughty for an emergency stay that would stave off the injunction he ordered just 72 hours earlier.

“The Court's order constitutes judicial overreach,” the HISA defendants argued, questioning how Doughty arrived at his decision to enforce an injunction.

“Although the Court purported to conduct a standing analysis, it did not analyze standing or ripeness as to each individual challenged rule,” the HISA filing stated.

HISA continued: “The Court thus invalidated the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)'s racetrack safety, enforcement, and assessment methodology rules in their entirety without ever assessing how any particular rule injured (or imminently risks injuring) Plaintiffs. The Court's resulting advisory opinion is also deeply flawed on the merits.”

Acting swiftly, Doughty responded to the defendants' 38-page filing within two hours on Friday morning. He required barely more than a single page to firmly assert “no” to HISA's request to put the regulations back into effect in Louisiana and West Virginia until the Fifth Circuit ruled on the new appeal.

“[T]his Court, for the reason more fully set out in the [preliminary injunction ruling], believes that the likelihood of Authority Defendants' success on the merits is low,” Doughty wrote in his July 29 denial. “This Court further finds Authority Defendants will not suffer irreparable harm if a stay is not entered. This Court further finds that other parties will be harmed if the stay is granted.”

Doughty then added a terse warning apparently aimed at letting the Authority know he believes there are flaws in its rulemaking process, which is at the heart of the overall lawsuit.

“Further, HISA has not yet adopted rules addressing the horseracing anti-doping and medication program,” Doughty wrote. “HISA has time to address any constitutional authority issues and procedural issues under the Administrative Procedures Act (APA) in re-drafting and re-noticing rules related to a Racetrack Safety Program.”

The HISA defendants are alleged in the June 29 suit to have violated the Fourth, Seventh and Tenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, plus the APA, which governs the process by which federal agencies develop and issue regulations.

The third court action undertaken by the HISA defendants Friday was a request for a clarification of Doughty's July 26 order, specifically the section that stated, “The geographic scope of the injunction shall be limited to the states of Louisiana and West Virginia, and as to all Plaintiffs in this proceeding,”

That clarification request was a direct response to a claim articulated by the Jockeys' Guild in a Wednesday press release that interpreted the judge's words to mean that the injunction “applies to all of the members of the Jockeys' Guild, regardless of the U.S. jurisdiction in which the jockey is riding.”

The HISA defendants stated that's not the proper interpretation.

“Plaintiffs have asserted that the Order extends to all of Plaintiffs' members nationwide,” the HISA filing argued. “But the members of the [Guild] are plainly not Plaintiffs in this case. And Plaintiffs' reading would wreak havoc on the sport. For example, many jockeys are not Guild members, such that different rules would apply to jockeys riding in the same race.”

The HISA Authority wants the judge to explicitly state that the injunction “applies to the implementation of the challenged rules as to Plaintiffs only and not as to [Guild] members nationwide.”

Technically, as listed on the original June 29 lawsuit, the state and organizational plaintiffs are the states of Louisiana and West Virginia, the racing commissions in both states, the Louisiana Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association, the Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association, and the Jockeys' Guild. The only individual plaintiffs are five Louisiana-based “covered persons” under HISA rules, and only one, Gerard Melancon, is an active jockey.

The defendants consist of the HISA Authority, the FTC, and board members and overseers of both entities.

Notably, the FTC and its individually named defendants were not listed alongside the names of the HISA defendants who moved for the appeal, the stay, and the clarification in the July 29 filings.

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