Shawn Loehr | Horse Racing Free Tips

Investigators Tradecraft Displayed On Day One At Parx Conference

With a strong first day program which ran the gambit from the centrality of horse racing's societal license to the destructive use of xylazine to an update from the Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit, horse racing investigators at the annual Organization of Racing Investigators were immersed in some of the most pressing issues affecting the sport.

Hosted by Parx Racing and sponsored by everyone from Keeneland to the Breeders' Cup, over 100 specialists who protect racetracks in America and several other countries, listened, asked questions and made connections, all in the service of equine athletes.

As one investigator said about why he was in attendance, “We are here to protect those who cannot protect themselves and being in a room with like-minded individuals on our 24/7 mission is how we stay ahead.”

Each year conference participants swap tradecraft and those conversations lead to communication which crosses jurisdictions. It is a network behind the scenes, and that is why industry afficionados and the public do not necessarily have the opportunity to see the machinery at work.

“What we talk about here isn't secret, but our members need to have a degree of anonymity as they liaise with various groups of law enforcement, and that is one of the reasons why we don't open this conference to just anyone,” said this year's conference chairman Jason Klouser.

The morning sessions included several case studies about a variety of topics including horse welfare and how investigations have yielded important results. Members of the FBI's Philadelphia Office presented how xylazine used to sedate horses can enter the drug trade on the street illegally.

A highlight was the University of Kentucky's Dr. Camie Heleski, who spoke about the need for all horse sports to improve their optics by directly addressing its societal license to operate.

In other words, developing categorical areas to focus studies like recognizing physical and emotional stress in horses, what happens to them during the other 23 hours in a day when they are not performing and how tack and equipment can be used differently to improve the overall health of the sport.

HIWU's Shawn Loehr and Shaun Richards | J.N. Campbell

HIWU's Shawn Loehr and Shaun Richards gave an update concerning their investigative operations. The pair now have four investigators on staff, along with a pair of analysts, and they will be adding more soon. Concerning states that do not have a voluntary agreement with HIWU–like New York or Oklahoma–they explained how they have come to rely on independent contractors and that their developing relationship with ORI members continues to be significant to their operations.

“Our mission is to catch doping, protect the horses, serve the Thoroughbred industry, and for instance, our 150 plus barn searches and tip lines continue to yield results,” Loehr said. “ORI is such a valuable resource and being able to talk with them during this conference is essential to our mission.”

During the evening, which shifted venues from the Parx racetrack to the casino, an awards banquet included the TDN's CEO/Publisher Sue Finley, who delivered the keynote over the power of integrity and the precarious position news outlets find themselves in when it comes to coverage of horse racing.

“Some organizations and individuals accuse us of being pro-HISA,” said Finley, speaking about the importance of independent journalism in horse racing. “The only thing we're accused of more? Is being ANTI-HISA. Sometimes, we write an article which generates complaints from some that we are pro-HISA, while others write us and say we're showing an obvious anti-HISA bias. All from the same article.”

The first day activities ended with the awarding of the organization's most prestigious honor which is named for longtime investigator John F. Wayne. The lifetime membership award went to Tampa Bay Downs's Deanna Nicol.

ORI's 28th meeting continues on Tuesday, Mar. 5. Click here to access the schedule.

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Investigators Conference Opens Sunday

Officially sold out, the Organization of Racing Investigators (ORI) opens its 27th annual training conference with a reception for attendees on Sunday evening at the Lodge in the Desert in Tucson, Arizona.

The ORI Conference includes a dozen speaker sessions scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, as presenters cover a variety of topics, including money laundering, regulatory oversight, medications, ethics, the media, human trafficking, licensing, drugs and alcohol on the backstretch, employee retention and barn surveillance. The final speaker on Tuesday will be Shawn Loehr, Director of Investigative Operations for the Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit (HIWU), who will give an overview of his office's program.

“We are extremely excited to welcome everyone to this year's ORI event and we want to thank all of our sponsors,” said Chairman Juan Estrada. “We expected around 45 to attend and we more than doubled that, so the interest and understanding about how important our network is can be interpreted as better than ever.”

To go along with this lineup, Monday afternoon will be devoted to a series of case studies and practical searches at Rillito Racetrack, which will be overseen by ORI Board Members. As an onsite teaching classroom, the setting will give participants a first-hand look into the latest techniques when it comes to investigation.

With students from the University of Arizona's Race Track Industry Program serving as volunteers during the conference, Chair Robert Hartman will deliver remarks at a dinner on Monday evening, which will be followed by author Melisa Del Bosque's keynote address. An awards ceremony intended to highlight the accomplishments of ORI members will conclude the banquet.

Click here, for the ORI Conference Program.

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Loehr, Richards To Head HIWU Investigations Unit

Edited Press Release

As part of its preparations for administration of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority's (HISA) Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Program, the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) is building a robust investigations unit to administer this fundamental component of the Program.

The investigations unit will be led by Shawn Loehr and Naushaun “Shaun” Richards, who will be guided by their decades of law enforcement and investigative experiences to help ensure the success of Thoroughbred racing's first national, uniform ADMC program.

Richards joined HIWU after a decorated 23-year tenure with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He was most recently a supervisory special agent in the FBI's Eurasian Organized Crime Task Force. Richards initiated and directed the highly publicized criminal investigation involving the widespread misbranding of drugs, doping of racehorses, and international money laundering that ultimately resulted in the indictments of more than 30 individuals, including trainers Jorge Navarro and Jason Servis.

In his role as HIWU's director of intelligence and strategy, Richards will focus on long-range investigations, which will rely heavily on real-time intelligence, strategy, sophisticated investigative techniques and data analysis to identify and prosecute potential significant violations of the ADMC Program. He will liaise with federal, state, and local law enforcement as it relates to possible criminal violations.

Loehr, HIWU's director of investigative operations, joined HIWU following a distinguished 27-year career in law enforcement in California. Loehr had most recently spent nearly four years as the chief of enforcement and licensing for the California Horse Racing Board, where he managed all investigations and licensing staff. Loehr also spent time as chief investigator for the Sacramento County Department of Human Assistance, district attorney investigator for Sacramento County, and a police officer in Redding, CA.

As director of investigative operations, Loehr will oversee the investigators stationed at tracks across the country. In states that have signed voluntary agreements with HIWU, existing state investigators may be utilized. In states that choose to opt out of signing a voluntary agreement, HIWU is contracting independent investigators to work at specific tracks under Loehr's leadership. Loehr is also responsible for developing standardized investigative protocols for Anti-Doping and Controlled Medication Rule Violations, as well as other related investigative procedures.

Loehr and Richards will be supported by a full-time data analyst/scientist and an investigative analyst, in addition to other investigative staff. Gunter Younger, a member of the HIWU Advisory Council and director of intelligence and investigations at the World Anti-Doping Agency, will also play an active role and support all HIWU investigations. Relevant intelligence will be shared with HISA's Racetrack Safety Program directors, and vice versa, as appropriate.

To enhance investigative efforts, HIWU will offer an anonymous whistleblower platform through which individuals can submit tips in English or Spanish concerning potential violations of the ADMC Program once the rules take effect. The system will accept submissions via email, phone, text message, and WhatsApp and be managed by Richards' team to ensure that all tips are triaged appropriately and handled confidentially. Examples of reportable violations of the ADMC Program include, but are not limited to, the administration or use of a prohibited substance or method, trafficking, tampering with a sample collection and complicity in committing an ADMC rule violation. HIWU will circulate the relevant contact information to submit tips once it is available.

Later this month, HIWU's investigations team will be attending the Organization of Racing Investigators Annual Training Conference in Tucson, Arizona, where they will present on their operations and how they plan to work with states to effectively administer the ADMC Program.

“HIWU understands that a strong investigations arm is essential for an ADMC program to be effective, and we could not be more excited to have Shawn and Shaun leading our efforts in this area,” said Ben Mosier, executive director of HIWU. “As a result of the work of our investigations team, stakeholders in the Thoroughbred industry can look forward to competing under a program that facilitates a level playing field while punishing those who don't comply with the rules and threaten the safety and welfare of our equine and human athletes.”

“I am honored to be able to use my experiences at the World Anti-Doping Agency to help contribute to the HIWU investigation team's success and promote the integrity of Thoroughbred racing,” said Younger. “We recognize the importance of whistleblowers in alerting us to potential violations, and industry members can feel confident that information can be safely shared with us through the secure platform.”

HIWU is anticipating that it will begin enforcement of the ADMC Program Mar. 27, 2023, pending approval of the ADMC rules submitted to the Federal Trade Commission in December and published to the Federal Register Jan. 26.

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