BY THE JOCKEY CLUB NEWS SERVICE (Edited)
The eighth installment in the 2025 OwnerView webinar series was held Oct. 14 and covered how trainers are adjusting to new Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit rules.
The conference is hosted by The Jockey Club and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association and presented by Bessemer Trust, Keeneland, and Stoll Keenon Ogden. The panel was sponsored by Spendthrift Farm and the National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association.
A Q&A was sponsored by West Point Thoroughbreds and attendees were able to ask questions through a Q&A link.
Gary Falter, project manager for OwnerView, moderated the panel with guests Ben Mosier, executive director of HIWU; Dr. Michael Hardy, the acting chief of science with HIWU; and trainers Mark Casse, Kelsey Danner and Ron Moquett.
The conference began with a question about how trainers have adjusted their stables to accommodate the implementation of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority’s Anti-Doping and Medication Control rules, which are enforced by HIWU.
“We do a lot more communication with our employees, so they sign waivers, and we explain how contamination, even if it’s a prescription drug or over-the-counter medication, how that could transfer to a horse. We use more cameras. Each of my barns have cameras in them,” Danner said.
“We use a lot less medication. We’re very careful. It’s more work, but it’s worth it,” Casse said. “And I think we’ve seen already how HISA and HIWU have made our game better.”
The discussion progressed to how uniform medication policies have helped trainers know what controlled medications they can administer and when they can administer them, regardless of what state they’re racing in.
“I think it makes life easier for everyone to know exactly what the rules are,” Moquett said.
Dr. Hardy added, “Even prior to my role with HIWU as a regulatory veterinarian working on the backside of racetracks for 15 plus years, especially in the Midwest, you know one of the most frequently asked questions to regulatory veterinarians in their day-to-day role by horsemen, especially those that ship in, are questions asked regarding medication regulations and rules in one state versus the other. I think this program has certainly helped alleviate a lot of those questions.”
When discussing how HISA and HIWU have adjusted the ADMC program rules or enforcement mechanisms based on feedback from horsemen, Mosier said:
“Ongoing conversations constantly amongst industry participants, amongst the Horseman’s Advisory Group, as well as there is a specific process in place for rules to be changed, proposed, redline, public comment, all these things.
“We have a set of rules and we’re working to evolve them and that doesn’t mean that we stop after this reiteration of redlines. We have to continue working together, communicating on these rules, and implementing them for future generations.”
Other topics included challenges for covered persons, testing levels and laboratory accreditation.
The replay of Tuesday’s Thoroughbred Owner Conference panel is available at bit.ly/OVVideos.
Two additional Thoroughbred Owner Conference virtual panels are scheduled for 2025. The next session, “Foal Conformation and Corrections,” will be held Nov. 18 at 2 p.m. ET. A full schedule can be found here.
There is no registration fee for the 2025 virtual conference series, but registration is required. For more information about the owner conference series, including the schedule and registration page, please visit ownerview.com/event/conference or contact Gary Falter at 859.224.2803 or gfalter@jockeyclub.com.
Return to the October 16 issue of Wire to Wire
