The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority's Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) program has been in effect nearly five months while its Racetrack Safety regulations began in July 2022.
As we report each week in our updates on cases before HISA's testing and enforcement arm, the Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit, medication violations are being discovered, fines and suspensions are being assessed, appeals are being heard, and there has been one case that's been overturned when an appeal was made to the Federal Trade Commission, the government agency that oversees HISA.
Lisa Lazarus, CEO of HISA, returns to the Friday Show for a wide-ranging interview to discuss some of these cases, how HISA is amending certain regulations based on industry input, and what is being done with some of the recommendations from its report on equine fatalities at Churchill Downs this spring. Lazarus also explains how the atypical findings policy works, differentiating between contamination from hay or feed supplements vs. positive tests from human medications or street drugs that may be traced to a trainer's employees.
At least two cases have been overturned on appeal, one involving medication and the other alleged overuse of the riding crop that led to a purse disqualification. Lazarus said she does not consider those as defeats for HISA, but as proof that the system is working. “If we win every case, then we're doing something wrong. because then it means it's not a fair system,” she said. “It's far more important that there's a system that everyone can buy into and believe in.”
Watch this week's episode of The Friday Show below:
The post The Friday Show Presented By Woodbine: HISA Updates From CEO Lisa Lazarus appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
