Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act

Every week, the TDN posts a round-up of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from around the country. Among this week's rulings, trainer Charles Essex has been suspended for 15 days and fined $1,000 after his trainee, The Golden Egg, tested positive for acepromazine after finishing second at Emerald Downs May 31. A ubiquitous sedative across the nation's backstretches, acepromazine is a Class B controlled medication under HISA, a maximum first-time violation for which is what the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Unit (HIWU) meted out to...

Every week, the TDN posts a round-up of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from around the country. NEW HISA/HIWU STEWARDS RULINGS The following rulings were reported on HISA's "rulings" portal and through the HIWU "pending" and "resolved" cases portals. Resolved ADMC Violations Date: 07/09/2024 Licensee: Blake A. Kelly, trainer Penalty: A fine of $500; imposition of 1.5 Penalty Points. Final decision by HIWU. Explainer: Vets' list medication violation for the presence of Dantrolene—Controlled Medication (Class C)—in a sample taken from Karter's Baby Blue on 5/15/24....

On Friday, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued a decision finding that while "nearly all" legally contested aspects of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) were constitutional, they determined the HISA Authority's broad enforcement powers unconstitutional. In the process, the Fifth Circuit split with the Sixth Court Circuit's Court of Appeals which recently had found the Congressionally amended version of HISA constitutional. The Supreme Court subsequently declined to hear a challenge to that decision filed by Oklahoma, Louisiana and West Virginia. "HISA's enforcement provisions...

Every week, the TDN posts a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA)-related rulings from around the country. Among this week's rulings, trainer Monte Gelrod has been suspended for 18 months and fined $12,500 after his trainee, Ratified, tested positive for cobalt salts after winning at Parx Racing on Feb. 19. Gelrod's suspension started Apr. 17. HISA classifies cobalt salts as a banned substance. Cobalt has been proven to stimulate the production of red blood cells (erythropoiesis) which explains why some have turned to it as a...

Every week, the TDN posts a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) -elated rulings from around the country. Among this week's rulings, trainer Pavel Matejka has been suspended seven days for four separate cannabidiol (CBD) positives. The four cases occurred between Feb. 17 and Mar. 15. Under HISA, CBD is classified a Class B controlled substance. The massive proliferation in CBD products for humans has spilled over into the equine world. The purported benefits from CBD use in horses include treatment of inflammation, ulcers, laminitis, colic,...

Every week, the TDN posts a round-up of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from around the country. Among this week's rulings, trainer Efren Loza, Jr. has been banned 18-months and fined $12,500 after his trainee, Mexicoffee, tested positive post-race for clenbuterol after finishing second at Gulfstream Park on Feb. 14. Loza's suspension began Apr. 17 and lasts until Oct. 16, 2025. Clenbuterol, a banned substance under HISA, is a bronchodilator with a checkered history in both human and equine sports due to its anabolic properties--in...

Every week, the TDN posts a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from around the country. Among this week's rulings, the focus once again has been on intra-articular injections before workouts. As it stands, HISA imposes a seven-day prohibition of any inter-articular injection of any joint prior to a timed workout, and a 14-day ban prior to a race. Proposed rules currently before the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) would add additional wrinkles to this rule. These proposed rules would bar a horse treated with any corticosteroid intra-articular injection of the...

Every week, the TDN posts a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from around the country. Among this most recent set of rulings, trainer Jorge Diaz has been suspended a total of 37 days and fined $3,500 for two separate violations. Diaz was suspended for 30 days after his trainee, Melina's Dream, tested positive for an alkalinizing agent (TCO2) after finishing seventh at Parx Racing on Jan. 3. High total carbon dioxide (TCO2) levels could be an indication of bicarbonate loading--or milkshaking--which can neutralize...

Edited Press Release The link for an equine-related Committee on Animals and the Law of the New York State Bar Association [has gone] live. It's a webinar on the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA): Its Impact on Equine Welfare, NYS Racing and Regulation, and Federal Administrative and Constitutional Law. The webinar will be held Thursday, April 18 from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. EDT. Attorneys who attend are eligible for up to three NYS MCLE credit hours. These credit hours are valid in almost every U.S. jurisdiction. Non-attorneys are...

Every week, the TDN posts a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from around the country. Among this week's rulings, the seven-day prohibition on intra-articular injections prior to a timed workout continues to trip up stakeholders. Six new individuals are facing possible sanctions for violations of this rule, to go with the 30 individuals whose cases have already been resolved. A typical first-time violation comes with a $3,000 fine. One of the trainers in question is Ignacio Correas, whose trainee Didia violated the intra-articular injection rule prior...

Every week, the TDN posts a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from around the country. Among this week's rulings, trainer Daniel Kenney has been banned18 months and fined $12,500 for possession of the thyroid drug, Levothyroxine, which HISA has listed a banned substance. Kenney's ban began on Oct. 5, 2023. In a brief explainer on the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit's (HIWU) website, HIWU Investigators allegedly found the Levothyroxine—otherwise known as Thyro-L—in one of Kenney's tack rooms at Arapahoe Park in Aurora, Colorado on Aug. 25, 2023....

Thoroughbred trainers Dale Romans, John Sadler and Shug McGaughey, plus racing and bloodstock manager Gavin Murphy, have joined the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA)'s Horsemen's Advisory Group, the HISA  Authority announced via press release Tuesday. The advisory group is a body of racing industry participants formed by  the HISA Authority last year to provide formal feedback to the Authority 's executive team and Standing Committees on the implementation and evolution of its Racetrack Safety and Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) regulations. The four new members will replace outgoing Horsemen's...