Takeaways From Tucson: HISA Talk Dominates Global Symposium On Racing

Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) is preparing to roll out proposed regulations to the Federal Trade Commission. The agency was created through federal legislation to regulate anti-doping and safety policies for Thoroughbred racing. HISA's proposed start-up is scheduled for July 1, 2022.

HISA passed legislation in December 2020. It will launch on July 1st. The organization will conduct out-of-competition testing. Post-race testing will be done by state racing commissions. HISA will take over post-game testing on January 1, 2023. It hopes to work with racing commission to use existing personnel for race-day blood and urine collections. There was a lot of discussion at the Global Symposium On Racing.

Scheeler and Susan Stover, a HISA board member and chair of the Racetrack Safety Committee, spoke about the importance of technology and data to Hisa's success. Stovers believes that collecting data is important for racing to reduce the rate of fatal or serious injuries and for the sport to maintain its Social License to Operate. The United States has reduced its rate for fatal injuries per thousand starts by 40%, but still has a higher rate than in the UK, Australia/New Zealand and Hong Kong. 3% of horses at the tracks are taken out of training each month, which costs nearly $82 million to horse owners every month.

Scheeler is not in a position to submit a budget for HISA operations. The bill that created Hisa does not require state racing commissioners to help with funding. Ed Martin, president of the Association of Racing Commissioners International, thinks the bill is flawed. He suggests that state budget directors will withdraw funding for horse racing regulations and drug testing if they find out they aren't required to.

The HISA Anti-Doping and Medication Control Committee is developing a therapeutic medication list. Adolpho Birch, the former NFL's top anti-doping official, helped draft the league's drug policies. USADA's general counsel for USDA Jeff Cook said the goal is to adjudicate cases more quickly. Split samples would not go to a lab of the trainer's choosing and public disclosure of complaints may come as soon as the Trainer is notified.

Tom Rooney is the new NTRA president and CEO. He served in the House of Representatives from 2009-19. Alex Waldrop was honored on Tuesday by the Race Track Industry Program with the Clay Puett Award for outstanding contributions to the industry. Rooney's family owns the Palm Beach Kennel Club in Florida. Greyhound racing was recently eliminated in that state.