Organization of Racing Investigators

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...

Uncovering loaded needles and syringes to apprehending an assistant starter who was in possession of a controlled substance, seasoned integrity teams conducted searches and seizures last week across a pair of Keystone State racetracks. Led by the Pennsylvania State Horse Racing Commission staff, the sweeps took place first in Erie at Presque Isle Downs before spending three days downstate at Parx Racing in Bensalem through Saturday's GI Pennsylvania Derby. As part of their integrity program, the Commission once again put together a group of investigators--this time from nine states, plus...

Rillito Park, the famed Quarter Horse track loaded with history and lore in Tucson, Arizona became a classroom Monday afternoon, as investigators from around the United States and five foreign countries ran through a series of 'stations' meant to test their detective acumen. With record attendance at 100, the Organization of Racing Investigators (ORI) annual three-day event brings together security personnel who protect horses and the people associated with them. Equine investigators, like other branches of law enforcement, have an evolving set of best practices. That is where the Rillito...

Officially sold out, the Organization of Racing Investigators (ORI) opens its 27th annual training conference with a reception for attendees on Sunday evening at the Lodge in the Desert in Tucson, Arizona. The ORI Conference includes a dozen speaker sessions scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, as presenters cover a variety of topics, including money laundering, regulatory oversight, medications, ethics, the media, human trafficking, licensing, drugs and alcohol on the backstretch, employee retention and barn surveillance. The final speaker on Tuesday will be Shawn Loehr, Director of Investigative Operations for the...

Money laundering, licensing, ethics, the relationship between the investigator and the media, human trafficking, an overview of Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit (HIWU) and an in-depth case study at Rillito Park Racetrack are just some of the session topics that the Organization of Racing Investigators (ORI) will cover during their 2023 conference, which will be held from Sunday, Feb. 26 to Wednesday, Mar. 1 at the University of Arizona and The Lodge on the Desert in Tucson. True to form, the agenda, which was announced Thursday, places a strong emphasis...

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...

Members of the Organization of Racing Investigators (ORI) are once again working diligently to provide the highest level of security for the world's best Thoroughbreds that have assembled for the 2022 Breeders' Cup. With a handpicked team of some 30 investigators, the BC Equine Security Team (BCEST) hails from all corners of the United States, and also includes international representation from Canada and Ireland. Working closely with a local company of security personnel, the BCEST will provide 24-hour round-the-clock care for the horses that will be running on Friday November...

Parx-based trainers Miguel Penaloza and Cesareo Marquez and jockey Edwin Rivera have been summarily suspended by the Pennsylvania Racing Commission after recent investigations found the three to be in possession of contraband. The trainers were found to be in possession of hypodermic needles, syringes and injectable substances, while Rivera was caught with an electrical device. According to a press release from the Organization of Racing Investigators, investigators from multiple jurisdictions assembled the week of Sept. 19 and conducted barn searches and stopped cars at the backstretch gates at all three...

Edited Press Release The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) will welcome members of the Organization of Racing Investigators (ORI) to Aqueduct Racetrack for its annual conference, which begins on Mar. 27 and continues through Mar. 30. Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, this will mark the first ORI conference since 2020. U.S. Rep. Paul D. Tonko, a co-sponsor of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act, will be the keynote speaker of this year's event. Congressman Tonko will be joined by a number of experts and racing executives,...

Edited Press Release Jean Claude Jaramillo says his favorite memories working at the New York Racing Association, Inc. are easy choices: being a part of the security horse detail of the last two Triple Crown winners: Justify in 2018 and American Pharoah in 2015. But it's not the highlight. "That I get to be a part of this team is what I'm proudest of here," says Jaramillo, an equine investigator specialist on NYRA's four-person Safety & Integrity team and the new chair of the global Organization of Racing Investigators (ORI)....

The annual meeting of the Organization of Racing Investigators, presented by 1/ST Safety, is scheduled for Feb. 23-26 at The Downs at Albuquerque. Registration for ORI members is available at https://horseracinginvestigators.com/. Presentations at the four-day conference include: Keynote presentation case study: Kwan Wolsey, Queensland Racing Integrity Developing Open Source intelligence - Tyler Durand, Alcohol & Gaming Commission of Ontario "Trackman" Safety issues for the equine, related to track conditions - Glen Kozak, NYRA What to do if you have an "Active Shooter" at your racetrack - Tim McLaughlin, Parx Racing...