Racing Symposium: Lazarus asks industry constituents to allow HISA to find its footing

TUCSON, Ariz. – Lisa Lazarus, the chief executive officer of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, told a packed conference room of racing officials on Tuesday that the organization she leads remains focused and committed to its missions of improving the regulation of racing and the safety of the sport.

This was the second consecutive year that Lazarus gave the opening address at the University of Arizona Global Symposium on Racing, a reflection of the outsized impact of the implementation of HISA on the U.S. racing industry over the past two years – and the concern and controversy generated by its often aggressive and expensive approach. HISA launched its safety program midway through 2022, and its Anti-Doping and Medication Control program was implemented approximately a year later. Both have had extensive growing pains.

Lazarus acknowledged those growing pains but urged the audience to give the organization time to grow into its roles. She said that HISA has embarked on a massive undertaking in trying to overhaul the regulation of racing and corral the many constituencies in the sport under one set of rules, a process that has often been accompanied by a much larger set of administrative responsibilities for licensees.

The scale of the changes – and the perception that HISA was crafting its rules without sufficient input from horsemen – has led to widespread confusion among horsemen and veterinarians, along with grumbling throughout the industry about HISA’s tactics and its ultimate impact.

“I want to assure everyone that HISA is strong, focused, and dedicated to our mission,” Lazarus said.

Lazarus defended the frequent rule modifications that HISA has released this year, and she urged horsemen and veterinarians to work with the organization as it finds its footing. She acknowledged that the new regulations “can be burdensome,” especially to veterinarians, but said that the long-term benefits of collecting voluminous treatment and injury records would pay off with further reductions in fatalities, an existential concern to racing industries throughout the world.

“We are not going to waste the data that you all have gone to so much effort to provide to us,” Lazarus said.

Lazarus announced during her address that HISA has developed a new tool that will be used to quickly identify horses that are at increased risk of injury at the time the horses are entered. The tool, which was developed with Palantir Technologies, will reduce several hours of work currently being conducted by regulatory veterinarians to a “matter of seconds” after entries have been drawn, Lazarus said.

Post-entry reviews of racing records look for known risk factors for horses that have been developed by epidemiologists analyzing injury records in the Equine Injury Database, which was launched by the U.S. racing industry in 2009. The reviews look to flag horses for additional scrutiny by veterinary regulators prior to the horses being allowed to run.

Lazarus also said that HISA is participating in a pilot project recommended by horsemen at Oaklawn Park in which the track will create a “designated treatment area for corticosteroid intra-articular injections” when the track begins its meet later this week. Lazarus described the project as an instance of collaboration between horsemen and HISA that could lead to improved protocols for the organization’s Anti-Doping and Medication Control program.

Rules on intra-articular injections of corticosteroids, which are performed to reduce inflammation in joints, have been particularly confusing to horsemen due to new restrictions that limit when horses can train or race after having the injections. HISA has modified the rule several times since it went into effect in May.

Over the next year, Lazarus said, HISA will look for “funding initiatives that will take some of the financial burden off the industry,” at a time when many tracks and racing commissions are struggling to account for their HISA dues assessments without impacting their current programs. She also said that HISA plans to launch a “pro bono” attorney program for horsemen facing mediation violations, and that HISA will create a “next-generation advisory group” to ensure that cultural concerns held by younger generations are being considered.

Although HISA has made enormous strides and has been accepted in many major racing jurisdictions, the organization is still facing a legal challenge that could threaten its existence, even among its supporters. In September, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held a hearing on the constitutionality of HISA’s enabling legislation, approximately 10 months after the court ruled in favor of constitutional arguments in opposition to HISA brought by a coalition of horsemen’s groups, state racing commissions, and racetracks.

If the Fifth Circuit again rules against HISA, the decision could set up a fight in the Supreme Court, given that the U.S. Sixth Circuit ruled for HISA in a case with substantially similar arguments. The Fifth Circuit decision is expected by the end of the year.

Lazarus closed her address by urging racing officials and participants to consider HISA’s mission to clean up a sport that has taken a fair share of knocks over the past five years due to high-profile horse deaths and the recent prison sentences handed to trainers, veterinarians, and pharmacists connected to a federal investigation into illegal medication use. To do that, the racing industry will need to focus on how best to clean up its act, not on its regulator.

“HISA should never be the story,” Lazarus said. “HISA’s job is to get rid of the bad stories, so that all the good stories can rise to the top.”

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