Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act

Weekly Stewards and Commissions Rulings, Jan. 23-29

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...

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Weekly Stewards and Commissions Rulings, Jan. 16-22

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....

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Four New Members Join HISA Horsemen's Advisory Group

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...

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HISA: No Specific Cause for Laurel Fatalities Last Spring, Mirroring No-Fault Findings in Churchill Deaths

A months-long investigation by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) Authority on a cluster of 13 Thoroughbred fatalities at Laurel Park during this year's winter and spring meets has determined that the deaths could not be attributed to any specific, obvious cause. The Nov. 28 report essentially reached the same no-obvious-fault finding that HISA announced back on Sept. 12 after it completed a separate-and similarly exhaustive-report on the 12 equine fatalities that occurred at Churchill Downs in April and May of 2023. "Based on the evidence and information available...

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Weekly Rulings: November 14-20

Every week, the TDN posts a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from around the country. Among the key rulings from the last seven days, trainer Jaime Cruz has been suspended for 15-days--beginning on Nov. 21--after his runner, Animal Princess, tested positive post-race for Detomidine, which is used primarily as a sedative in horses. Detomidine is also labelled as an analgesic. Trainer Tanner Tracy has also been suspended for seven days--beginning Nov. 15--after a post-race sample from his trainee, Carry On, tested positive for...

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HISA Town Hall: Lawyers, Positive Test Rates, and Rule Changes

The second Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) virtual town hall was conducted Wednesday, giving industry stakeholders the chance to field unanswered questions about the federal anti-doping and medication control (ADMC) program that has been in effect since May. Among the points raised at the meeting: A panel of lawyers has been established to provide pro-bono representation to cash-strapped stakeholders facing possible sanctions. Approximately 42,000 horses have been tested since the launch of the ADMC program nearly six months ago. There have been 11 positive tests for substances of human...

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Weekly Stewards and Commissions Rulings: Nov 7-13

Every week, the TDN posts a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from around the country. Among the key rulings from the last seven days, trainer Natalia Lynch has been handed down a combined four-year suspension by an arbitrator, and a combined $55,000 in fines and arbitration costs. Lynch had faced sanctions for two separate issues. One was for the possession of banned thyroid drug, Levothyroxine. The other was a positive test for another banned substance, Altrenogest—a synthetic progestin used in horses for the purpose of suppressing...

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Weekly Rulings: October 24-30

Every week, the TDN publishes a round-up of key official rulings from the primary tracks within the four major racing jurisdictions of California, New York, Florida and Kentucky. Here's a primer on how each of these jurisdictions adjudicates different offenses, what they make public (or not) and where. The TDN also posts a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from the same week. These include decisions from around the country. NEW HISA/HIWU STEWARDS RULINGS The following rulings were reported on HISA's "rulings" portal and...

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Pimentals, Overwhelmed by Support, Get Help to Proceed to HIWU Hearing

The ruled-off trainer John Pimental said Wednesday that he and his wife, Diana, have been "blown away" by the support and offers of assistance they have received in the five days since a TDN story highlighted the life-altering ramifications of John's signing an "admission of rule violations" and "acceptance of consequences" document to settle Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) allegations stemming from a methamphetamine positive in one of his Monmouth Park trainees. While being served notice on July 28 of the meth positive, HIWU agents conducted a Monmouth barn...

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Weekly Stewards and Commissions Rulings, Oct 17-23

Every week, the TDN publishes a roundup of key official rulings from the primary tracks within the four major racing jurisdictions of California, New York, Florida and Kentucky. Here's a primer on how each of these jurisdictions adjudicates different offenses, what they make public (or not) and where. The TDN also posts a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from the same week. These include decisions from around the country. NEW HISA/HIWU STEWARDS RULINGS The following rulings were reported on HISA's "rulings" portal and...

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HIWU: Efforts to Harmonize Laboratory “Testing Sensitivity” Underway

In a statement Thursday, the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU)--the enforcement arm of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA)--said that an internal review of the six accredited laboratories used by the agency had unearthed different limits of detection in blood for metformin, a banned substance at all times under HISA. "Following this review, which was conducted in collaboration with the laboratories, it was determined that not all applied the same Limit of Detection in analyzing samples for the presence of Metformin. HIWU has since met with all six...

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Open Letter to the Industry: Lisa Lazarus

Dear Thoroughbred racing participants, I want to thank everyone in racing who continues to do their part to promote HISA rule compliance to help advance our sport. HISA is proud of and encouraged by the progress we have made in the first five months of our Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Program, as well as the safety improvements we've seen across the country under U.S. Thoroughbred racing's first-ever uniform regulations. We continue to make the sport safer for our athletes while also making the rules clearer and more efficient for...

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