Organization of Racing Investigators Conference

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,...

With a strong first day program which ran the gambit from the centrality of horse racing's societal license to the destructive use of xylazine to an update from the Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit, horse racing investigators at the annual Organization of Racing Investigators were immersed in some of the most pressing issues affecting the sport. Hosted by Parx Racing and sponsored by everyone from Keeneland to the Breeders' Cup, over 100 specialists who protect racetracks in America and several other countries, listened, asked questions and made connections, all in...

With an expected record attendance of over 120 participants, the 28th annual training and networking conference held by the Organization of Racing Investigators (ORI) is set for Sunday, Mar. 3 and will run through Wednesday, Mar. 6 at Parx Racing in Bensalem, Pennsylvania. The TDN's CEO/Publisher Sue Finley will serve as the keynote speaker during the group's Monday evening dinner and awards ceremony, where her remarks will focus on horse racing, the media and integrity. Central to ORI is the pursuit of integrity and education for its members. Interactions among...

Two board members from the Organization of Racing Investigators (ORI) warmed up their vocal chords and shared a sliver of their vast expertise concerning the value of racing integrity teams during a panel at the Global Symposium on Racing, sponsored by the University of Arizona's Race Track Industry Program, this past week. Don Ahrens of Sam Houston Race Park and Jason Klouser of the Pennsylvania State Horse Racing Commission explained how these special squads, working alongside agencies like the Breeders' Cup, the U.S. Trotting Association, the American Quarter Horse Association...

Executive Director Ben Mosier brought representatives from his Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) to make the final presentation on Tuesday afternoon to members of the Organization of Racing Investigators (ORI) who held their annual conference in Tucson, Arizona this week. In his introductory remarks, Mosier said, "Nobody knows more about the confusion over HISA they we do. We are prepared and ready, assuming Mar. 27 as a start date." Attendees heard from General Counsel Michelle Pujals, Head of Investigative Operations Shawn Loehr and Head of Intelligence and Strategy Shaun...

The Organization of Racing Investigators (ORI) will convene its annual training conference for specialists with a reception Sunday Feb. 26, 2023 in Tucson. Hosted by the University of Arizona, which is home to the Race Track Industry Program (RTIP), the event brings together members from the U.S. and Canada, but also an international contingent of investigators and security personnel from Europe and South Africa that will participate in a series of sessions over the course of Monday Feb. 27 and Tuesday Feb. 28. A membership administrative meeting will take place...

John Wayne, the executive director of the Delaware Thoroughbred Racing Commission, passed away Wednesday while attending the Organization of Racing Investigators Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Wayne was 65. His death was confirmed by Duncan Patterson, the chair of the Delaware commission. "John was someone who had done everything in racing," Patterson said. "He was one of the most knowledgeable people you could ever come across. He started out at NYRA, went to the TRPB and then ran Atlantic City Race Course before coming to work for us. He was...