While many horsemen have been outspoken about their criticisms of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, Belmont Stakes-winning trainer Jena Antonucci is hopeful the group will provide some relief to trainers like her.
Speaking on a HISA-focused panel at the 71st Annual Jockey Club Round Table Conference on Matters Pertaining to Racing in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., this week, Antonucci said she believes uniform regulations will provide a more level playing field.
“I find it has been a great equalizer,” said Antonucci. “It isn't a secret that there's different availabilities at different levels … of different pharmaceuticals, different really smart chemists, people looking to gain an edge that you guys have worked so hard to try and neutralize. I feel the biggest benefit has been to the hardest-hit in the industry, which is probably the middle.
“That guy or gal that busts their butt seven days a week, 24/7 can walk into a race and not feel like they're going to watch another horse rebreak at the head of the stretch. That their plied trade, their skillset will give them an opportunity to shine.”
“That eight percent trainer, historically – [and here, Antonucci raised her hand] — where it looks like I can't train a racehorse. All of a sudden, wow, she's winning more or he's winning more. And it's not that we've done anything different in our practice, it's just that we've been able to walk forward now and know that what I do, I do darn well.”
Antonucci said that the implementation of national regulations wasn't too challenging for her, because she was already diligent about record-keeping and it didn't add much work to report those records to the Authority as required. One area she thinks HISA could improve upon is in its communication with horsemen who aren't familiar with some of the new terminology or concepts like provisional suspensions. Fellow trainer Ron Moquett – who is both a member of the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association, a legal opponent to HISA, and a HISA advisory board – agreed.
“Luckily the business has prepared me by constantly evolving,” Moquett said. “There's parts of it that have been very challenging. I'd say you're dealing with a large group of people that are maybe just now getting introduced to technology. I may be on the younger part of the scale. I don't feel that young but I'm helping people that are sometimes my competitors understand what is expected.”
Moquett said he's often a sounding board for NHBPA members and distills their frustrations into conversations with HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus, and he feels those concerns are received and considered appropriately.
The panel, which was led by Jockey Club president and COO Jim Gagliano, also included Lazarus and Ben Mosier, executive director of the Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit. Mosier told Gagliano that the dialogue in the racing industry questioning new medication rules and testing procedures isn't unique to this sport.
“I've had a lot of individuals looking from the outside in from the human anti-doping community saying it's like déjà-vu listening to what's happening with HISA now being applied across the nation,” said Mosier, who has worked with Drug Free Sport International since 2010. “The World Anti-Doping Agency did the same thing with over 200 countries in 1999 and look at where they are now. They've of course had their bumps along the way, but trying to unify so many countries in many ways is very similar to what's going on now.
“Every year, you hear about the same things you're talking about now [in the human sports world] – ensuring that the regulators and the athletes are working together to continue to evolve the rules and make sure those rules apply realistically to each one of those sports, and that's what we're trying to achieve here, as well.”
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