March 2022 Issue

EAST COAST EQUESTRIAN March 2022 Page 65 Email: eschfence@gmail.com - Fax: -- WHOLESALE & RETAIL Phone -- Horseracing Reform Stalls as Authorities Fail to Agree Meanwhile, the horseracing industry is proceeding as if the USADA issue is a non-issue. The Authority has hired a CEO, Lisa Lazarus, who was scheduled to start work in mid-February. The group’s website still links to the USADA and the work that group had already completed in creating drug-testing protocols. According to the Authority, implementation of the Anti-Doping and Medica- tion Control (ADMC) program would have two components: out of competition testing and race day testing. Out of com- petition testing would be under the auspices of the Authority beginning July 2022. Race day testing would still be handled by individual state regulators until early 2023. A spokesperson for the Au- thority, MacKenzie Smith, says that they are not commenting any further about this issue. Pennsylvania Announces New Rules In January Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission offi- cials released a new plan aimed at improving safety for horses at the state’s racetracks. The plan includes developing a database of fatalities and requiring trainers to submit pre-entry forms to get per- mission for horses to race. Tom Chuckas, Pennsylvania’s Director of Thoroughbred Horseracing de- tailed a list of action items which he says represents an important start for resolving safety issues. The plan also requires veterinar- ians to confirm that individual horses are sound and suitable for racing. Additionally, they will install diagnostic equipment at racetracks that can be used to identify any bone or muscle inju- ries that are not obvious through routine exams. While the plan met with gen- eral approval among horsemen and others who are concerned about the welfare of horses involved in racing, the question that looms over every discussion remains unanswered. What about drugs? Scandals involving the use of performance-enhancing drugs have profoundly undermined the integrity of horseracing and endangered horses. Recently in New York, Seth Fishman, a veterinarian who worked with numerous trainers, was found guilty of conspiring to violate adulteration and misbranding laws, and the manufacture of performance-enhancing drugs at racetracks. Fishman is the first of several individuals—including other veterinarians, trainers and distributors of drugs—to be tried. The case is far-reaching, involv- ing schemes in several states and the United Arab Emirates. In announcing Fishman’s conviction, Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, detailed the breathtaking scope of the disgraced veterinarian’s cor- rupt enterprise. “The jury’s swift conviction of Seth Fishman re- flects the overwhelming evidence of his guilt as displayed through this trial. As an ostensible veter- inarian – sworn to the care and protection of animals – Fishman cynically violated his oath in service of corrupt trainers and in the pursuit of profits. Through the sale of untested, unsafe, and unstable drugs, Fishman’s illegal drug business was a platform for both fraud and animal abuse. Today’s conviction appropriately condemns the danger inherent in Fishman’s crimes and under- scores the seriousness with which this Office takes the kind of abuse that Fishman practiced.” In 2021 85 horses died at Pennsylvania’s three Thorough- bred tracks; 56 died at Parx Rac- ing in Bensalem. In May 2021 a raid conducted by the Penn- sylvania Racing Commission at Parx found items considered to be contraband, including syringes and medications. Chuckas, the state’s Director of Thoroughbred Horseracing, said the items were found in a barn, groom’s quarters and tack rooms. HISAFaces Court Challenges Even as the Authority created under HISA proceeds with rule-making, hiring and identifying a new partner to develop medication regulations, challenges to the law have been hitting court dockets from Texas to West Virginia. The National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, the State of Oklahoma, the United States Trotting Association, and several racetracks are questioning wheth- er HISA is constitutional. While court challenges and disputes about medications nibble away at the law, the horseracing industry teeters on the edge of an abyss. With the industry’s product declining in popularity, with its integrity buffeted by scandals and horse deaths, with online casinos and lotteries scooping up ever larger shares of gambling dollars, it’s difficult to imagine a bright future for horseracing. Please submit your events to steph@eastcoastequestrian.net Please provide event name, location, city, state and contact information for inclusion at no cost in East Coast Equestrian's calendar. Attention Event Organizers! (Continued from page 50)