National HBPA CEO Eric Hamelback’s Response to 60 Minutes

When the agenda-driven members of our industry control the narrative and steer the optics, you get a result such as Sunday’s CBS 60 Minutes broadcast. This biased reporting fails to reflect the reality in horse racing. It is not accurate, balanced, nor fair to horsemen.

Everyone in horse racing knows the doping scandal of Servis and Navarro was a watershed moment showing some bad actors in our industry. Thanks to the New Jersey Racing Commission, the FBI and others, the takedown occurred. Which had nothing to do with HISA. CBS knew — or would have known with even minimal investigation — that the vast majority of horsemen nationwide are law-abiding, hard-working, salt-of-the-earth folks who condemn cheating and cheaters but also strongly oppose HISA in its current form.

CBS also knew HISA is subject to multiple lawsuits and that one U.S. Court of Appeals had already struck it down as unconstitutional. However, none of that fit the narrative this group wanted to preach to a public audience who knows little to nothing about horse racing. So, CBS just left it out.

We know Cecilia Vega of 60 Minutes did not produce an accurate, balanced, or fair characterization of the horsemen and horsewomen who work diligently in this industry every day. When asked a direct question about alleged abused medications and their relation to equine deaths from this past summer, the HISA CEO deflected with a non-responsive answer. The truth is there has not been one equine death reported as being linked to drugs – illegal or therapeutic overages.

Make no mistake, this story was a carefully concocted spin job by industry and media elites pushing a fake news narrative. It was couched to make HISA out to be the savior of horse racing but, as the story pointed out, HISA has not made things better. Also, it needs to be clearly understood that the breed registry by no means has the power or authority to speak on behalf of the industry.

We need horsemanship over regulations. We need the public relations for this industry to be run by everyday horsemen, not those trying to shrink horse racing to become a sport for the elite. This is an industry made up of thousands of women and men who daily toil long hours to make a living and they deserve to have their stories told. This 60 Minutes piece was not accurate, balanced, nor fair to the industry.

We ask you to let 60 minutes know. You can email the show at 60min@CBSNews.com or post a comment on X/Twitter and tag @60Minutes and @ceciliavega.