Tag: The Biz

The California Horse Racing Board conducted a meeting on Thursday, June 29, 2023, at Cal Expo in Sacramento. Chairman Gregory Ferraro chaired the meeting, joined by Vice Chair Oscar Gonzales and Commissioners Dennis Alfieri and Brenda Washington Davis.

The audio of this entire Board meeting is available on the CHRB Website (www.chrb.ca.gov) under the Webcast link. In brief:

• In his report to the Board, Dr. Jeff Blea, the CHRB equine medical director, advised that equine fatalities due to musculoskeletal injuries have declined by a third in FY 2022-23 (which concluded June 30) from the previous fiscal year. He reported on several new rules going into effect to protect horses – the latest in a long list of safety initiatives – and he credited those rules and procedures introduced at California racetracks with the decline in racing and training injuries. (The CHRB will be providing more details on FY 2022-23 fatalities in an upcoming news release.)
• The Board approved the license for Pacific Racing Association to run a thoroughbred meet at Golden Gate Fields (GGF) that will operate from Aug. 26 through Oct. 2. In a departure from the historical schedule, GGF will be racing on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday during the meet, with Monday replacing Friday. GGF has been closed for the early summer without any racing or training. GGF Vice President and General Manager David Duggan reported significant improvements to the Tapeta racing surface since the track closed, including the addition of tons of new materials. The CHRB will continue monitoring all maintenance activities on that surface. Eric Sindler, counsel for the California Racing Operations arm of 1/ST, reassured Vice Chair Gonzales and the Board that the corporation's minor investment in some horses owned by Myracehorse.com is purely for marketing purposes and poses no conflict of interest in racing at 1/ST racetracks.
• In his report to the Board, Executive Director Scott Chaney advised that 57 recommendations for the improvement of horse racing in California have been implemented, as detailed at http://www.chrb.ca.gov/RecommendationsPOAM.aspx
• The Board approved the license for the California Exposition and State Fair for a fair meet at Cal Expo in Sacramento that will operate from July 14 through July 30. This State Fair meet has moved its first post to 3:45 p.m. – later in the day to help avoid excessive heat. The Board thanked Fair executives for being considerate of horses, workers, and fans.
• The Board approved the license for the Sonoma County Fair for a fair meet in Santa Rosa that will operate from Aug. 3 through Aug. 13.
• The Board authorized the use of some Advance Department Wagering revenue generated by Santa Rosa racing for a marketing program.
• The Board approved the license for the Humboldt County Fair for a fair meet in Ferndale that will operate from Aug. 18 through Aug. 27. Fair executives discussed their efforts to deal with safety concerns about the grandstand before opening day. The Board asked them to work on contingency plans.
• The Board approved the FY 2023-24 agreement providing funding support for the CHRB.
• The Board authorized California Thoroughbred Breeders Association to conduct a horse sale at the Alameda County Fairgrounds on August 15.
• The Board authorized Los Alamitos Equine Sales Company to conduct a horse sale at Los Alamitos on September 30 and October 1.
• The Board renewed the license for The Tilted Kilt in Thousand Oaks to continue wagering operations as a mini-satellite.

The post CHRB Reports One-Third Reduction In Fatal Injuries At California Tracks appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Churchill Downs Incorporated (“CDI”) announced today that trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. will be permitted to enter horses in races and may apply for stall occupancy at all CDI-owned racetracks effective immediately.

The decision follows the completion of an investigation by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (“KHRC”) and the release of necropsy reports of two of Joseph's horses that died suddenly in races at Churchill Downs.

Read more about the necropsy reports here.

“We remain deeply concerned about the condition of Parents Pride and Chasing Artie that led to their sudden death,” said Bill Mudd, President and Chief Operating Officer of CDI. “However, given the details available to us as a result of the KHRC investigation, there is no basis to continue Joseph's suspension.”

The post CDI Reinstates Joseph, Announces KHRC Investigation Has Concluded With No Rule Violations appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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The Chair of the Association of Racing Commissioners International's Drug Testing Standards and Practices Committee, Duncan Patterson of Delaware, informed the ARCI Board this week that the overall results of equine drug testing across the United States in 2022 indicate a significant compliance with the rules and the overall program remains comparable to those governed by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

The 2022 program was conducted entirely by individual State Racing Commissions.  In 2023, the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority is responsible for most Thoroughbred testing that occurs after May 22, 2023.

Patterson's report aggregates official programmatic data from individual States to report the results of horse racing's drug regulation programs for 2022, reflecting Thoroughbred, Quarter Horse, and Standardbred contests.

The report shows data from all States except Texas, Maine, Montana, and North Dakota.

In 2022, US state racing commissions sent over 206,498 biological samples to a network of independent testing laboratories.  These samples included 23,116 samples taken out of competition and 183,382 post-race.

“11.2 percent of horses tested nationwide were out of competition, although only seventeen states had an out of competition testing program,” said RCI President Ed Martin, who noted that an expansion of out of competition testing in Thoroughbred racing is an anticipated result of HISA's Anti Doping and Medication Control program.

“There were 842 adverse analytical findings indicating the presence of a substance that should not be in the sample and a likely violation of the rules,” Patterson said. “The overwhelming majority of samples tested – 99.59 percent – were found to be compliant with the rules which were substantially consistent, but not totally uniform, across the jurisdictions.”

As a result of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act, all Thoroughbred races now have uniform rules.  State rules governing Standardbred and Quarter Horse racing are substantially similar but not totally uniform as there are minor variations.

Consistent with prior years, the majority of substances detected are indicative of a therapeutic overage (at least 59.2 percent). Instances that can be clearly described as doping reflect 16 percent of the substances found, or just 0.02 percent of all samples tested.

Individual substances are categorized pursuant to the ARCI's Uniform Classification Guidelines for Foreign Substances on a scale of one to five as to the seriousness of a finding in terms of appropriateness to be present in a horse and the ability to affect performance.

The categories of substances detected in 2022 were as follows:

Classification	Number	Percentage
1	37	4.39	Doping
2	98	11.64	Doping
3	200	23.75	(Depends on substance)
4	468	55.58	Therapeutic Overage
5	29	3.44	Therapeutic Overage

Patterson reported that horseracing's program with a 0.41 adverse finding rate is comparable to Olympic sport.

“The testing done for the Olympics and other sports covered by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) have shown similar results with 99.35 percent of samples having no issue,” he said.

The following “Total Samples Analyzed” chart from WADA's 2021 Report summarizes the results of all the samples WADA-accredited Laboratories analyzed and reported into WADA's Anti-Doping Administration and Management System (ADAMS):

	Samples Analyzed	AAFs	%
Olympic Sports	207008	1,013	0.49
Non-Olympic Sports	34422	547	1.59%
TOTAL	241430	1560	0.65%

Patterson noted the magnitude of the drug testing programs in U.S. horse racing.

“Worldwide tests for WADA totaled 241,430 in 2021; in 2022, US state racing commissions conducted over 206,498 tests, not including four states that did not report,” he said.

The following chart shows a state by state comparison for the 2022 program:

Agency	Total Tests	Total AAFs	AAF%	Clear %
Arizona Dept. of Gaming; Racing Div.	3,630	18	0.005	99.995
Arkansas Racing & Gaming Comm. (flat)	2,524	5	0.002	99.998
California Horse Racing Board	30,210	114	0.004	99.996
Colorado	747	23	0.031	99.969
Delaware Thoroughbred Racing Comm.	2,080	5	0.240	99.760
Florida Dept. of Pari Mutuel Wagering	8,904	71	0.008	99.992
Idaho State Racing Comm.	320	15	0.047	99.953
Illinois Racing Board	4,171	6	0.001	99.999
Indiana Horse Racing Comm.	8,590	23	0.003	99.997
Iowa Racing Comm.	3,151	10	0.003	99.997
Kentucky Horse Racing Comm.	4,875	11	0.002	99.998
Louisiana State Racing Comm.	7,940	159	0.020	99.980
Maine State Harness Racing Commission	DNR
Maryland Racing Comm.	9,543	31	0.003	99.997
Michigan Gaming Control Board	1,343	2	0.001	99.999
Minnesota Racing Comm.	4,537	9	0.002	99.998
Montana Board of Horse Racing	DNR
N Dakota Racing Comm.	DNR
Nebraska Racing Comm.	1,116	0	0.000	100.000
New Jersey	14,601	30	0.002	99.998
New Mexico Racing Commission	8,619	71	0.008	99.992
New York State Gaming Comm.	30,725	34	0.001	99.999
Ohio St. RC	18,719	82	0.004	99.996
Oklahoma HRC	7,932	55	0.007	99.993
Oregon Racing Comm.	188	3	0.016	99.984
Pennsylvania Racing Commission	22,818	91	0.004	99.996
S Dakota	52	0	0.000	100.000
Texas Racing Comm.	DNR
Virginia Racing Comm.	1,609	10	0.006	99.994
Washington Horse Racing Comm.	985	14	0.014	99.986
West Virginia Racing Commission	5,723	22	0.004	99.996
Wyoming Pari-Mutuel Comm.	861	12	0.014	99.986

The post ARCI: 2022 Drug Testing Results Reveal 99.59 Percent Compliance Across U.S. Racing Jurisdictions appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority is temporarily suspending enforcement of its rules on joint injections after between 15 and 20 trainers breached the portion of the rule that deals with eligibility for workouts.

The Authority's rule states that trainers may not order joint injections within 14 days of a race or seven days prior to a timed workout, and that violators could be suspended for 60 days.

Thoroughbred Daily News reported that was confusion by trainers was primarily on the portion of the rule that deals with workout withdrawals, and HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus said most of the cases that violated the workout portion of the rule were only a day past the prescribed timeframe. Only one of the 15 to 20 cases dealt with pre-race treatment.

The Authority may not edit a rule that has already gone into effect but according to Lazarus may decide “to not enforce a particular provision of the rule.”

Also reported by the TDN, HISA said June 29 it is “in communication” with racetrack management at Parx after race replays from June 28 show a large puddle of standing water on the dirt track along the rail, which horses were navigating around. A spokesperson for the organization told the TDN HISA is asking questions about the determination by track management that the surface was safe under these circumstances.

The post HISA Looking At Standing Water At Parx, Taking A Step Back On Joint Injections appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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