By Dan Ross
With a view to pulling the veil back on the whys and wherefores of their operations, a representative of either the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) Authority or the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) will every week answer a question of industry importance posed by the TDN.
If you have any questions you'd like to ask HISA or HIWU, please feel free to send them over to us at the following email address: [email protected]
The following was submitted by former trainer, Jenine Sahadi.
Q: Is there any information publicly available of the point system in place for positive tests? Every adjudication names points assessed per positive, yet there seems to be no information as to the point leaders or points accumulated on the website.
Answer by HIWU spokesperson:
The penalty points system under the Anti-Doping and Medication Control Program is designed to deter and sanction individuals who commit multiple violations within a short period of time. If someone has accumulated more than six penalty points within a two-year period, they will be subject to an additional suspension (30-180 days) that will be tacked onto any suspension imposed for subsequent violations. Penalty points from specific violations expire after two years, and they are only applicable to Controlled Medication Rule Violations. The penalty point system is summarized on the HIWU website.
HIWU plans to formally publish a live list of penalty point totals on our website in the near future. In the interim, if individuals are interested in the number of penalty points currently assigned to specific trainers, they can search for the trainer's name on our cases page. Each resolved case lists the number of penalty points that were assigned for that specific violation as part of the overall sanctions.
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