Dr. Angela Pelzel-McCluskey

With a field size of just over 130, the Organization of Racing Investigators (ORI) meeting smashed their previous attendance record as they convened the 30th annual conference at Tampa Bay Downs on Sunday, Mar. 1. Over the course of the three-day event, members soaked up presentations centered on integrity issues for equine athletes, traded their craft with one another through fellowship and made new connections that will be essential once they return to their respective jurisdictions. A survey of the Tampa roll call reflects the organization's regional diversity that emanates...

The Organization of Racing Investigators opened the final day of its Parx conference with another set of timely presentations. Topics included the impact of bush track racing, and a variety of legal and scientific case studies, which were all geared for the investigator's toolkit. With varied backgrounds in law enforcement and security, many attendees have experience growing up around horses. Investigators work for tracks and racing commissions, but they can never turn their backs on the chance to improve their techniques and plug into the ORI network fiber. Kassie Creed,...