The need for consensus among major stakeholders in horse racing in regard to drug testing and enforcement of penalties again was a major theme during The Jockey Club Round Table Conference held Aug. 14 in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
Research commissioned by The Jockey Club shows that, though the Thoroughbred industry has made progress in the area of uniform medication and testing standards, a state-by-state approach is at best problematic.
The racing industry Aug. 10 was offered a look at the success of the National Football League and, though racing lacks the fundamental structure to support similar growth, there were tips on maximizing interest in the sport.
The Jockey Club Aug. 10 acknowledged progress on the effort to adopt uniform medication and drug-testing rules on a state-by-state basis, but also said it will advocate on the federal level for assistance.
While the topics at this year's Saratoga Institute on Racing and Gaming Law were similar to those at other industry meetings this summer, the tenor of the presentations and perspectives of the panelists were not.
Whether members of Congress address legislation tied to medication and drug testing in horse racing remains to be seen, but the Thoroughbred industry appears to be more and more unwilling to take the chance it won't happen.
The Jockey Club will provide up to $500,000 in 2014-15 to some racing jurisdictions to step up out-of-competition drug testing with a focus on graded stakes.
The Jockey Club intends to continue with its efforts to market Thoroughbred racing and develop new patrons, but the organization's leader said Aug. 12 those efforts must go hand in hand with medication and penalty reforms.
In a change designed to win support of its Reformed Racing Medication Rules, The Jockey Club has added a provision governing regulatory administration of furosemide on race day.
The Jockey Club has released an update on action it is taking based on recommendations from the McKinsey and Company report unveiled at the Round Table conference in August 2011.
Laboratories that test samples for the presence of drugs in California, Delaware, Kentucky, New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and other states have signed letters of intent to submit to accreditation.
Participants in The Jockey Club Round Table Aug. 22 in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., sought to convey optimism and opportunity in the face of declines in many facets of the Thoroughbred industry.
<i>By Evan I. Hammonds</i> - Advance deposit wagering, which most sources agree accounts for about 10% of handle on Thoroughbred racing, is the sport's latest battleground.
Medication, equine health, and the impact advance deposit wagering has on the economics of racing will share the spotlight when The Jockey Club hosts its 55th annual Round Table Conference on Matters Pertaining to Racing Aug. 19 at the Gideon Putnam Resort and Spa in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
The year's Jockey Club Round Table conference had a decidedly New York theme, with the New York Racing Association espousing its progress and commitment to Thoroughbred racing and breeding in the state, and a representative of the Ad Hoc Committee on the Future of Racing in New York saying the panel is carrying out its mandate.
The horse racing industry is in the midst of creating a major research and development laboratory that will be responsible for improving testing capabilities and developing tests for designer and other hard-to-detect drugs used in racehorses, officials announced during The Jockey Club Round Table Conference Sunday in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
<i>By Dan Liebman</i> -- There are so many interest groups involved that this is probably not even a realistic vision. Sure, at such events as the Jockey Club Round Table and Arizona Symposium, many of racing's leaders do assemble. But after a few meetings, they return to their own little worlds.
Thoroughbred racing continues to take steps on its way to becoming a true league sport, but officials at the Aug. 15 Jockey Club Round Table again beat the drum for cooperation and aggregation in what some still believe is a largely fragmented industry.
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani told The Jockey Club Round Table Sunday that the "way in which to preserve and expand horse racing as a sport is to improve its business."
The vital areas of wagering integrity, technology, and medication will be spotlighted at The Jockey Club's Round Table Conference in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. on Aug. 17.
Former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani will recommend a series of reforms to the racing industry in the aftermath of the Breeders' Cup Ultra Pick 6 wagering fraud, including creation of a central, nationwide authority to help oversee security issues.
As the Thoroughbred industry embarks on a national campaign to encourage more investment in racehorses, the chairman of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association has issued a plea for uniformity in medication to help the sport in a number of areas.
The Greatest Game, Thoroughbred racing's owner-recruitment program, began running advertisements on three cable television networks Thursday.
As it is renewed for the 50th year, the annual Jockey Club Round Table has changed from an exchange of ideas to 'Turf congress' of prepared remarks.
Jockey Club Round Table transcript available...Keeneland's Jerry Neff to retire...Meadowlands announces fall schedule...Volk named to Nebraska commission...Equine Advocates host annual event...Rood & Riddle Grand Prix approaches.
Therapeutic medications will be the focus of the next round of "Super-Testing," the results of which should be available the first week of December during the University of Arizona Symposium on Racing. More than 500 blind samples remain to be tested for Class 4 medications.
The watchword at this year's Jockey Club Round Table was "focus," and perhaps not by coincidence, the event, held Sunday in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., ended about 25 minutes early. The initiatives planned by the Thoroughbred industry, however, could take some time to accomplish.
Marketing, integrity, and the freedom to compete will be key issues addressed Aug. 19 during "The Jockey Club Round Table Conference on Matters Pertaining to Racing" at Saratoga Springs.
The Jockey Club's annual Round Table Conference will be held Aug. 19, a week later than usual. It remains to be seen if other organizations that schedule their meetings the week of the Round Table will follow suit.
Perhaps it's a good sign that the medication of racehorses again was a prominent topic at the annual Jockey Club Round Table held Sunday in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
First, it was an investment that amounts to more than $100 million by media giant TV Guide Inc. Now, it's a partnership with IBM Global Services, dubbed the world's leading provider of information technology solutions.
