Washington D.C.

With over 18 years experience in government affairs and stakeholder engagement, Bethany Erb has been appointed to serve as Director of Public Affairs at the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA), the organization announced via press release Monday. In the position, Erb will manage HISA's engagement with policymakers and other stakeholders in Washington, D.C. and around the country, which includes representatives from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) as well as the various advocacy groups inside and outside of the industry. Erb's prior positions include within the U.S. Department of Agriculture,...

Tom Rooney, a former Congressman, a lawyer and an Army veteran, was hired to take over as the top man at the NTRA because the NTRA Board knew he could make a difference in Washington. Some two years later and with the swinging pendulum that is the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA), Rooney has his hands full. This week, Rooney sat down with the team on the TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland to discuss what he and his staff are doing to advocate for the sport. Rooney...

The Kentucky Equine Education Project's (KEEP) Board of Directors announced that long-time consultant Will Glasscock will be promoted to executive director beginning Jan 1. Additionally, Elisabeth Jensen who stepped down from that position in Sept. will serve as a consultant, assisting KEEP in managing board relations, industry stakeholders and with long-term strategic planning. Growing up in Kentucky, Glasscock attended the College of Charleston and the George Washington University before working for nearly nine years in congressional offices and as the director of government relations for a national trade association. Case...

The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) has officially opened an office in Washington, D.C. NTRA president and CEO Tom Rooney, a former Congressman, has indicated the office will be fully staffed and open for visitors. "I've been hired and tasked to go to Washington and be the voice of the Thoroughbred racing industry to our nation's policy makers," said Rooney. "Having spent a decade in Congress, I know how Washington works. The biggest part of that is by showing up and being in person. By opening this office, we'll be...

Witnesses from the Thoroughbred industry who testified Tuesday in Washington, D.C., at a legislative hearing on the Horseracing Integrity Act agreed that the sport is facing an unprecedented equine health crisis. But they were sharply split as to whether the current version of a federal bill mandating an independent anti-doping and medication control program was the best way to keep the industry from slipping into deeper peril. The most cogent argument repeatedly put forth by pro-legislation speakers was that racehorses, unlike human athletes, don't have a say in being administered...