Top News | Horse Racing Free Tips

Federal Bill To Replace HISA Reportedly In Pipeline

A federal bill aimed at replacing the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) with a regulatory system modeled around an interstate compact is reportedly in the pipeline.

The president of the United States Trotting Association (USTA), Russell Williams, disclosed the news about the pending legislation Mar. 21 during a special meeting of the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission (PHRC).

Williams addressed the PHRC Tuesday just prior to the board voting in favor of entering into three nine-month agreements with the HISA Authority that pertain to the Racetrack Safety Program, the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU), and the Laboratory Services Agreement.

Williams was urging the board to consider future implications prior to taking its vote, and one of the issues he brought up was the looming potential for a replacement regulatory structure.

“It's not just a possibility out there. It should be happening in the near future,” Williams said.

“There is legislation about to be introduced in Congress [and] the primary sponsor of this legislation has been talking with us,” Williams said. He did not disclose who that senator or congressman is.

“We provided him with a draft,” Williams continued. “The draft came from the [North American Association of] Racetrack Veterinarians, the HBPA, and the USTA. And it's already been through legislative services, [which has] put it in Congressional format, and as soon as the primary sponsor has his team put together, the bill will be introduced.

“This bill is a state-administered program,” Williams said. “So states would form an interstate compact. They would use state authorities, state experience and state funding, and save millions of dollars over the HISA structure.

“The legislation is health- and safety-focused,” Williams said. “It provides all of the same benefits to the racing industry that HISA does. It is science-based, and this is one of the problems we've had historically with the approach of HISA; it's in the HISA statute, the arbitrary nature of the regulatory approaches in words and statute, the Lasix ban.”

Williams said that the new legislation would be underpinned by “state administration, a science basis for making policy decisions, and a funding model that can be afforded by the racing industry.”

TDN could not independently confirm the involvement of the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (NHBPA) with the pending legislation. A phone message left for the NHBPA's chief executive officer, Eric Hamelback, did not yield a return call prior to deadline for this story.

The post Federal Bill To Replace HISA Reportedly In Pipeline appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Stauffer’s Voice Booms At Lone Star Park

Veteran track announcer Vic Stauffer will take the microphone when Lone Star Park opens its Thoroughbred season Apr. 13 in Grand Prairie, Texas, the track's Brandon Leigh confirmed in a phone call Thursday.

Stauffer was let go by Oaklawn Park earlier this month, a position he held since 2017. Lone Star's regular voice Jim Byers replaced him in the booth in Hot Springs, but is expected to return to Grand Prairie when Oaklawn's meet closes on Kentucky Derby Day. Stauffer will also join Rick Lee, morning-line oddsmaker and Rodney Nelson, social media and marketing manager, for Lone Star's handicapping show.

Leigh, director of marketing and player development said, “Vic is going to fill-in for us until Jim [Byers] returns. We know we are getting an accomplished announcer and we are happy to have him on board for the second half of April and into May.”

Before his time at Oaklawn, Stauffer called races at a number of venues starting in the mid-1980s, including a stretch at Hollywood Park from 2001 until its closure in 2013. Working in several sectors of the industry, he also served as a member of the TVG broadcast team and for a time was a jockey's agent.

“I've been a huge fan of Lone Star ever since the 2004 Breeders' Cup,” said Stauffer via text. “I've actually called one race there during the All-Star Announcer's Day before that 2004 Breeders' Cup, and I am looking forward to sharing Texas racing with their excellent fans. I appreciate Lone Star affording me the opportunity.”

The post Stauffer’s Voice Booms At Lone Star Park appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

HISA’s Lisa Lazarus Joins TDN Writers’ Room Podcast

On Monday, there will be a seismic shift in horse racing. That's when the Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Authority will launch its Anti-Doping and Medication Control program and, in most states, will take over the responsibilities of drug testing and drug adjudications. With that date right around the corner, the TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland brought in HISA's CEO Lisa Lazarus to give an update on what to expect once HISA takes over. Lazarus was this week's Green Group Guest of the Week.

Lazarus made it clear that one of HISA's major goals is to do everything in its power to stop anyone who tries to use performance-enhancing drugs to get an edge. To do so, they will go beyond drug testing and will rely on investigations and intelligence.

“Our test distribution plan is going to be investigations and intelligence led,” she said. “We are not going to be relying primarily on post-race testing in order to discern who actually is breaking the rules. We've got a very robust investigative team headed by Shaun Richards, who is a former FBI agent. He is actually the one who worked up all the evidence in the prosecutions in the Southern District involving Navarro and Servis, et cetera. We really are focusing on the intelligence.”

Lazarus said she knows there are still those in the industry who are anti-HISA and have a lot of trepidation about it taking over when it comes to drug testing. She said one of her main goals for HISA is to change that narrative.

“I would like to have gained the trust of the majority of horsemen and players in the industry,” she said when asked about her goals for the coming year. “You may agree or disagree about a rule here or there, and that's all good. That's all part of the dialogue. But I really hope that and believe that we'll have the majority saying that this is actually needed. That we needed a uniform system. We needed uniform rules. This is good. And this is this actually professionalizes our sport to a different level. I hope that horsemen will feel like there is a level playing field. I hope the public sees racing horse racing in a different way, that it is safer and with more integrity.”

Another change that HISA will usher in is that it will differentiate between drugs that are true performance-enhancers and therapeutic medications that were still in a horse's system when they were tested. They will also have a separate category for positives that appear to be the result of environmental contamination.

“We completely separated the rule book into two categories, the banned substances, which are the doping substances; versus the controlled medications, which are the therapeutics,” she said. “And we take a very different philosophical approach to those two categories. If you have a banned substance in a horse, which is a performance enhancement that should never be in a horse, the penalties are severe. They're severe, they're swift, and they will be game-changing. If you make a mistake or if you have a therapeutic overage, there will be consequences, but they'll be proportionate to the to the violation. We also have a policy called the Atypical Findings Policy, which basically has 27 different substances that, if detected in a horse's system, we know it's almost certain to be result of contamination. Those will go through a different process. If we are satisfied after looking at those a little bit more deeply that it really is contamination, there's no loss of purse, there's no sanction. It's like it never happened.”

Elsewhere on the podcast, which is also sponsored by Coolmore, the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association, Woodford Thoroughbreds, The Kentucky Thoroughbred Association, XBTV, 1/st Racing, WinStar Farm and West Point Thoroughbreds, Randy Moss and Bill Finley took a look at the remarkable year 87-year-old trainer Wayne Lukas is having. Lukas won last weekend's biggest race, the GIII Essex H. at Oaklawn Park with Last Samurai (Malibu Moon). There was also a discussion of the promising numbers that came out of the Equine Injury Database for 2022. The 2022 figure of 1.25 fatalities per 1,000 starters was the lowest since The Jockey Club began compiling fatality numbers in 2009. Looking ahead to this weekend's racing, the team gave their thoughts on the major races at the Fair Grounds and Turfway Park, which include key GI Kentucky Derby preps in the GII Louisiana Derby and the GIII Jeff Ruby Steaks S.

Click for the Writers' Room Podcast's Audio or Video.

The post HISA’s Lisa Lazarus Joins TDN Writers’ Room Podcast appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

TAA Drive Returns To Florida Derby Day

The Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA) will be present Apr. 1 once again for Florida Derby Day at Gulfstream Park, which includes the GI Curlin Florida Derby, they said in a release on Thursday.

Partnering with 1/ST Racing, the TAA will be recognized with a named race on the day's undercard and a presentation to the winning connections will include a branded blanket and swag bag. Additionally, the organization will take part in the Best Turned Out Horse Awards, and jockeys will have the opportunity to pledge their mount fee.

The TAA will be a co-beneficiary for the Florida Derby Charity Golf Tournament alongside the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund. The charity golf tournament, hosted by 1/ST Racing, will be held on Monday, Mar. 27, at the Pembroke Lakes Golf & Country Club. Teams in the top three placings will receive gift bags from the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance.

Interested participants can contact Stacy Nicks at Gulfstream Park for more information by email.

The post TAA Drive Returns To Florida Derby Day appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post