Blood-Horse For the second consecutive year, a panel at the Saratoga Institute for Equine, Racing, and Gaming Law conference focused on immigration and labor laws, and their implications for the horseracing industry. While the 2014 panel relied heavily on positive anecdotes of a major shift toward compliance in New York state with regard to labor [...]

Blood-Horse A co-sponsor of federal legislation that would authorize oversight of equine medication and drug-testing said he believes members of Congress could schedule a committee hearing on the bill this fall, and that he's open to hearing from racing industry stakeholders. "We're looking at having as expeditious a process as possible," said United States Rep. [...]

Blood-Horse The new makeup of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association's American Graded Stakes Committee was announced Aug. 12 during the association's annual members meeting held in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. J. David Richardson, chairman of the AGSC, and Mike O'Farrell were both re-elected to three-year terms, while Pete Willmott is stepping down after nine years [...]

NHBPA One day after The Jockey Club’s Round Table Conference, the press has been inundated with comments, criticism and concerns revolving around the support of The Jockey Club, along with the American Humane Society and others, for H.R. 3084. As has been stated in several press statements, and after full review and discussion of the [...]

Blood-Horse Is the current push for federal legislation to authorize equine medication oversight in Thoroughbred racing really just about banning race-day anti-bleeding medication? Will the agreed-upon federal bill be rewritten to include Standardbred and Quarter Horse racing—even if they don't want to be part of it? Would oversight by the United States Anti-Doping Agency of [...]

NHBPA The National HBPA Board of Directors elected Leroy Gessmann as president of North America’s largest horsemen’s association during the NHBPA’s Summer Convention held Aug. 6-9 in Denver. Gessmann is president of the Iowa HBPA and most recently served as First Vice President and Central Region Vice President for the National HBPA. Gessmann takes over [...]

ARCI release The President of the Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI) today predicted that the currently unregulated horse breeding industry will ultimately be folded into any federal racing legislation that advances in Washington. “I fully anticipate that as current proposals advance in the legislative process, Members of Congress will heed comments made by a [...]

Blood-Horse State-by-state efforts to bring about uniformity in medication policies, drug testing, and enforcement aren't sufficient to move the Thoroughbred industry forward as it struggles to improve its brand, speakers said Aug. 9 at The Jockey Club Round Table conference. Medication issues dominated the second half of the two-hour conference held in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. [...]

Blood-Horse The Jockey Club Thoroughbred Safety Committee will implement a centralized database for racehorse necropsy information and has recommended all horses that come off the vet's list be subject to testing based on current medication rules. Since its inception in 2008, the committee has made about 20 recommendations designed to improve racehorse health and safety. [...]

Paulick Report Following Sunday’s Jockey Club Round Table on Matters Pertaining to Racing, held in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., the following statements were issued by Ed Martin, president of the Association of Racing Commissioners International. The ARCI is an umbrella organization of racing regulators in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Jamaica and Trinidad-Tobago. For more on [...]