Jockey Club Round Table to focus on HISA, computer-assisted wagering

This year’s Jockey Club Round Table Conference on Racing on Aug. 3 in Saratoga Springs will feature two panel discussions, one focused on the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority and the other on the impact of computer-assisted wagering on racetracks and bettors.

The two panels will anchor a two-hour lineup of speakers put together by The Jockey Club for its annual Round Table, held this year for the first time on a Thursday instead of its typical Sunday slot.

The panel on computer-assisted wagering – which has long been a controversial topic in racing – will be hosted by Pat Cummings, the executive director of the Thoroughbred Idea Foundation. Panelists will include Marshall Gramm, the well-known Rhodes College professor who is an avid gambler and horse owner; and David O’Rourke, the president of the New York Racing Association, which in recent years has placed several restrictions on the operation of CAWs in its pools.

The panel examining HISA will be moderated by Jim Gagliano, the president and chief operating officer of The Jockey Club, which remains one of HISA’s strongest supporters. The panelists will include Lisa Lazarus, HISA’s chief executive; Ben Mosier, the executive director of HISA’s drug enforcement arm, the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit; Jena Antonucci, the trainer of this year’s Belmont Stakes winner; and Ron Moquett, a trainer based in the Midwest.

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The keynote speaker of the conference will be Michael Lopez, the senior director of data and analytics for the National Football League, who “will discuss how data is analyzed to enhance and better understand football and [the] possible correlations with horse racing,” the Jockey Club said.

Another speaker from outside the usual Round Table lineup will be Lindsay Czarniak, a sports reporter and anchor for FOX on its NFL and NASCAR broadcasts, who will “use her extensive knowledge of sports to provide observations on marketing of horse racing.”

The conference will be streamed live on The Jockey Club’s website.

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