After 'grace period,' HISA sends warnings on registrations

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority has sent warnings to jockeys and trainers who are not yet registered with the organization that they are facing potential disciplinary measures if they do not comply with registration requirements, the authority said on Thursday.

The notices were sent to stewards at racetracks under HISA’s authority on Wednesday, nearly three weeks after HISA’s jurisdiction went into effect at many racetracks across the U.S. The notices inform the jockeys and trainers that if they do not register within 48 hours of receiving the notice, they will be called for a hearing in front of HISA’s board and face penalties ranging from “personal fines or suspensions” and including potential disqualifications from purse money.

HISA officials would not provide specific details on the identities of the individuals receiving the notices or the number of notices that were sent out.

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HISA’s rules required horses and their trainers and riders to be registered for all races conducted as of July 2. However, officials at HISA decided to delay strict enforcement of the rule and penalties for violations until now, as part of a “grace period” designed to encourage participation.

In the case of trainers, the notices were apparently generated by the participation of an unregistered horse in a race.

“According to records, one or more of the covered horses for which you were responsible have not been registered with the authority,” the notice states. The notice goes on to say that the situation can be remedied without a hearing if the horse and the trainer are registered within 48 hours of receipt.

The crackdown comes at a time when several states in the south and southeast are resisting HISA’s authority. Texas has refused to allow HISA’s rules to go into effect, and, as a result, the simulcasting signal from Lone Star Park has not been sent out of state since July 1. HISA has not been requiring racing participants in that state to register.

In Louisiana, the state’s attorney general and the state’s horsemen’s and breeders’ associations filed a suit seeking a temporary injunction preventing HISA’s authority from going into effect in the state in late June, but a judge denied the injunction. That suit was joined by West Virginia.

Any hearings for unregistered individuals will be heard by a three-person panel of HISA board members, according to the notices. The hearings are expected to begin in August.

“Failure to register or participate in the HISA hearing could result in personal fines or suspensions, and could result in forfeiture of purse money, disqualification from a race, or the change in the finish in any race” in which an unregistered horse ran, the notices state.

Also on Thursday, HISA released a list of “stewards rulings” that have been handed down under its rules since July 1. All 47 rulings were for violations of a new whip-use rule that went into effect on that date. Several jockeys received multiple rulings for violations of the rule.

Four of the rulings have been appealed to HISA’s board, and in two cases, HISA has already issued stays.