In a perfect world, the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) would have rolled off the legislative and organizational assembly line on July 1, 2022, ready to revolutionize the horseracing industry in the United States. But this is not a perfect world and there are a lot of stakeholders in the industry who are still angling to have their priorities included in the law’s execution. Since HISA was signed into law in December 2020, thousands of hours of deliberations, debates, discussions and disputes have played out across the country as the new organization—Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA), deploying the same acronym as the law on which it is based—marched toward July 1. That’s the day the law took effect.
With its focus on integrity and safety, it would seem the law would be embraced by everyone involved in the sport, from horse owners to trainers to jockeys. And it’s clear that virtually everyone—even people whose only contact with the sport is a wager at a racetrack—is rooting for integrity and safety. But it’s at the law’s granular level where controversy erupts.
It’s a complicated piece of legislation, with lots of moving parts and each part seems to have one or more interest groups clinging to it. For one thing, there is the issue of medications for horses—what’s legal, when, how will medications be policed? In June HISA released a new prohibited medication list, and they are awaiting public comment. The Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) portion of HISA is scheduled to take effect in January 2023, making medication rules uniform across all racing jurisdictions, eliminating the array of rules that apply to horseracing from one state to another.
While the medication rules are aimed squarely at protecting the horses, and leveling the competitive field for horses, the jockeys and exercise riders will be safer, too. Protecting jockeys is another component of HISA, and it too stirs controversy.
Moving Jockey Safety to the Front Burner
Terry Meyocks has been involved in equestrian sports all his life. He’s CEO of the Jockeys’ Guild, and has been working on strategies to protect jockeys and ensure they get appropriate treatment for racing-related injuries. He says that right out of the gate some of the jockeys were suspicious of HISA and its ramifications. HISA requires every racing participant (jockeys, trainers, exercise riders, and even horses) to register with the Authority. The deadline was July 1, 2022. “We basically helped jockeys but it’s up to their discretion to sign or not. There were concerns about signing off and waiving their rights. We tried to educate them. We had zoom meetings and reps talking to the jocks. If you’re not registered, though, at some point you won’t be able to work.” He says that some of the jockeys believed that HISA officials could search their homes, their cars, their lockers, etc. But Meyocks says that if the jockeys had done nothing wrong, they should have nothing to worry about.
Beyond the registration process, HISA established additional regulations about how often and where a jockey is permitted to use a crop during a race. And then there were rules about the horseshoes. And the actual construction of the crops. Meyocks says all these things are important, but he thinks the medical issues facing jockeys have been shifted to the back burner.
He says he’s optimistic, but this is not the first time he has worked on these issues and faced the kind of pushback and ennui that eventually killed momentum. “The industry doesn’t want to work with the jocks. Back in 2008 we tried to launch the jockey health information system, which could contain medical records and update when a jockey was injured,” he says. That didn’t gain enough critical mass of support to move forward. “In 2018 there was a code of standards for National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA),” he says. It was another initiative intended to protect the jockeys. “Out of 75 racetracks only half a dozen at best would comply with the code of standards.”
The issue of head trauma and other profound injuries is as timely and urgent in horseracing as it is in other sports. “Since 1940,” Meyocks says, “159 jocks have been killed. We average a couple of jocks paralyzed each year. We all know it’s a dangerous sport, but we need to do research.” He says the Jockeys’ Guild has reached out to jockeys’ associations in Great Britain, Ireland and Australia to create a more extensive network of people working to protect jockeys. They’re looking at new helmet designs, and other protective gear for jockeys. “Everything we are trying to do is help the industry by reducing liability for racetracks, owners and reduce injuries to jockeys.”
Meyocks says that even though catastrophic injuries to jockeys have been reduced, they are not eliminated. On July 4 in Saratoga, exercise rider Cindy Hutter was severely injured when the horse she was riding suffered a heart attack, collapsed and died, pinning Hutter beneath. Her condition as of mid-July was described as “stable,” but she remained in a coma.
The Potential is There
HISA requires jockeys to provide proof of a physical examination within the year prior to registering with HISA, and physical exams annually that confirm the jockey’s readiness to compete. Further, every jockey is required to complete a baseline concussion screening within the 12 months prior to July 1, 2022, and to have these screenings annually thereafter. Additionally, salient medical history, a list of previous injuries and drug allergies, must be on a card the jockey wears in his or her vest anytime they are racing.
Part of HISA’s accreditation process requires racetracks to develop protocols for concussion management, along with risk assessments and risk management protocols. They’re also supposed to have a medical director on staff. “There are rules and regulations in place for HISA,” Meyocks says. “The potential is there, but the rules are not in effect yet—particularly having a medical director.”
The roll-out of HISA has had many successes, as detailed in press releases. While they have not responded to email requests for interviews, their press releases have recently announced that “20 out of the 25 states under HISA’s authority have reached or are in the process of reaching agreement or understanding with HISA regarding implementation of the new federal law.” It’s difficult to unearth any specific data about how many of the racetracks in those 25 states have medical directors on board to address the health of the jockeys.
Much has already been spelled out by HISA about veterinarians at the racetracks, and the (welcome) rules about horseshoes and crops and how crops may be utilized by jockeys. But little is known about the HISA rules requiring medical directors at racetracks. This fact dismays Meyocks and he wonders when there will be a HIPPA-compliant database of jockey injuries, along with critical information about track conditions that may have precipitated the injuries.