Lisa Lazarus, the new CEO of the federally-created Integrity and Safety Authority, addressed the state’s racing regulators on April 11, making a call to “just let we have a chance to do it right.”
Lazarus, who previously worked at the international governing body for equestrian sports and the National Football League, spoke as the International Association of Racing Commissioners kicked off its 5th Annual Meeting. 88 on Safe Horses and Honest Sports at the Griffin Gate Marriott in Lexington. ARCI is the umbrella organization of the official rule-making bodies for professional greyhound and horse racing.
Much of the four-day conference will focus on HISA, which will fundamentally change the way US horse racing is monitored, take over drug and testing policy, and many safety-related aspects versus what was formerly the domain of the state equestrian commission.
“This is tough, significant work for all of us,” Lazarus told the panel of regulators and other industry organizations. “We’re going to do our best to make it right. But we’re going to make mistakes. And we’re going to have to fix them, because it’s never been done before. So I’m just asking you to. give us a chance to get it right. But if you have a criticism, you let us know and give us a chance to fix it and we’ll work together.”
There have been more questions than answers so far since Congress passed legislation supporting HISA as part of the massive Omnibus and COVID-19 Spending bill in December 2020.
The ARCI conference was the first time that HISA allowed many of its employees to speak in public. Lazarus also said that HISA expects to announce in May an agreement with an independent enforcement agency, as authorized by federal law, effective July 1. The US Anti-Doping Agency. , which for many years has been promoted as the enforcement agency. , dropped out of negotiations at the end of December.
While the safety and wellbeing components of the new HISA regulations took effect July 1, the new anti-doping and drug control policies have been deferred until early 2023.
Ed Martin, president and chief executive officer of ARCI, called HISA “a fact”.
“Unless some judge says something else, we have to make it work because this is going to be a reality,” Martin said, referencing lawsuits brought by horsemen’s unions. Various states and other organizations have filed petitions in federal court challenging the constitutionality of the law. “We have a responsibility to the public, the industry, and these amazing animals are the foundation of our sport.”
Lazarus, who started his work in mid-February, said HISA’s mission consists of three things: safety for people and horse riders, national homogeneity that will benefit those who “want to play by the rules,” and approach the creation and implementation of the rules “in collaboration with the industry.”
“We’ll crouch behind to find our way forward,” she said.
Washington Equestrian Commission Chairman Bob Lopez, outgoing ARCI president, offers a different perspective. Lopez argues that HISA has hurt itself by ignoring state regulators and their institutional knowledge from setting rules and policies for horse racing for decades.
“ARCI was and remains extremely concerned about the impact and implementation of the Equestrian Safety and Integrity Act on Thoroughbred racing,” Lopez said in pre-recorded comments after Circumstances prevented him from attending the conference. “We see many exciting possibilities to improve the good work we do together. We also see mistakes and missed opportunities that can make it harder for the industry and the people in it, to survive in a highly competitive market.”
Lopez said ARCI offers to “help HISA through the maze of different state governments… We’ve come up with the best advice on how to make all this work. We deliver. give them free office space, free support staff, free committee coordination. Those offers, and many of our tips on the realities of dealing with state governments are often overlooked. via.
“Perhaps that’s the huge challenge they face and the fact that almost all of the people involved have never done this before. They certainly have the right to do so, but ignoring the wisdom of that is. The wisdom of those who understand the ways of government is inexcusable. . their family, Lisa Lazarus, and wish her every success, I fear what she has inherited will continue to be difficult for themselves and the industry they will help adjust to.”
In her comments, Lopez found that many of the safety rules mandated by HISA that went into effect on July 1 were derived from ARCI’s sample rules.
“You should take that as a compliment,” he said in his video comments. “… I am confident that our new colleagues at HISA will appreciate the level of commitment and expertise we all share for the safety and honesty of equestrian sport and the welfare of the racers. people and riders.”
The conference comes at a pivotal time for horse racing, with high-profile federal charges filed against more than two dozen people in the alleged horse doping plot two years ago. This was followed by the first place finisher of the 2021 Kentucky Derby, Medina Spirit, disqualified for drug use on a match day and coach Bob Baffert suspended 90 days later. Additionally, sports betting is now legal in 33 states and is rapidly changing the betting and regulatory landscape.
Martin said in the introduction to Lazarus: “There are many things that people are anxious to know, and I would say, perhaps including Lisa. “It’s complicated. It’s layered. It’s not easy… I met Lisa in person for the first time last night (Sunday) and I said, ‘I think you’ve got the worst job in the race. ” I think she knows that. But we all have challenges. We all have to strive to do the right thing…. The survival of this industry depends on every aspect of it. We had a great conversation. All I can say is: This woman got it. I look forward to working with her. “
For his part, Lazarus said, “I really think I have the most extraordinary job and incredible opportunity.”
She praised the race executives, saying, “You’re on top… We’re not here to say, ‘That’s not a good job.’ We just wanted to take it further and really focus on uniformity. That’s where racing has a bit of a platform to catch up with compared to other sports.”
It remains to be seen how much the new Agency will cost and who will pay for it.
“I understand that all of you are facing tight budgets,” Lazarus said. “The questions I always get are ‘This sounds great, how much will it cost? I wish I could answer that question right now if specific. What I can tell you right now is that we understand it, we understand it, we are sensitive to it. We will work diligently to ensure that we are efficient, cost-effective where possible, and ultimately look for alternative funding models to help the industry bear the cost of the rules. and this regulation. “
Number of preliminary drug tests in 2021: 99.53% compliance
Ed Martin, president and chief executive officer of ARCI, provided preliminary numbers for the 2021 US pari-mutuel horse racing test results and said they are suitable for tried-and-tested sports Tested by the US Anti-Doping Agency and the World Anti-Doping Agency.
Martin says racing regulators in the United States, including Puerto Rico, have performed more than 243,627 post-race and out-of-competition inspections. There were 1,150 adverse analytical findings that led to management action. Of those, 1,021 were found in post-race samples and 129 were from out-of-competition samples. Martin said that Texas was not included because of an anomaly in the data submitted, with an updated report to be released later.
The numbers show an apparent rate of 99.57% in the post-race test, with 97.9% of the out-of-competition samples having no adverse analytical findings. Martin says the statistics account for a 99.53% compliance rate with anti-doping and drug rules, with ARCI member racing regulators conducting the largest and most transparent anti-doping program. in any professional sport in the United States.
Of the positive findings, 2.4% of drug violations in the flat races and 4.7% in the Standardbred races involved a Level 1 violation for no excuse substances. in horse. Almost 70% of the rule violations came from the average of the majority of the therapeutic drugs recorded as Class 4 and 5 substances because of their reduced ability to affect performance. Such substances are legal but not allowed in horses participating in a race.
“As in previous years, the number of anti-doping programs in US horse races that track sports regulated by WADA and USADA means that everyone is doing a good job,” Martin said. as bad as everyone else is doing,” Martin said. “Are people cheating or trying to cheat? Absolutely, in every sport. We all have the same problem and must constantly be on the lookout for new addictive ways and ways of doing things. new to catch cheaters, regardless of whether the athlete is human or equine.
“There are many opinions on the extent of the problem, but no one really knows. The only way to judge is to see the transparent data from those programs. Everything else is just guesswork. Probably because with too many horse races, and too many horses tested, it appears to be worse, when in reality the percentage of adverse analytical findings are consistent with sports approved by USADA and WADA regulation. “
Martin says HISA’s drug control and anti-doping program will bring complete uniformity to lab testing, but lab testing isn’t the only way to tackle this. He praised the work of the New York Game Commission with paperwork checks that resulted in more than 1,600 drug violations of a harness trainer.
“The challenge for all of us is that we need to be creative and determined with the element of surprise, to deter cheaters from doing so,” says Martin.
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