HISA releases budget for Thoroughbreds

October 19, 2022 (Lexington, KY) – The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) on Monday (Oct. 17) distributed 2023 financial assessments to State Racing Commissions (SRCs) as the Authority prepares to expand its national oversight and rule implementation efforts to anti-doping and medication control on January 1, 2023. HISA’s Racetrack Safety program has been in effect since July 1, 2022.

Each SRC received an assessment that represents the respective state’s total financial obligation for 2023 as outlined by the Authority’s Cost Assessment Methodology rule, which was approved by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

SRCs can reduce their assessment if they enter into an agreement with HISA and the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU). The full HISA budget for 2023 is $72,509,662.  To promote industry collaboration and uniformity, HISA has offered SRCs approximately $23 million in monetary credits against the assessment. These credits are available to SRCs who choose to provide sample collection personnel and investigative services (including stewards involved in investigations) in compliance with the new Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Program rules.

In addition, SRCs are no longer responsible for individually paying for investigations, laboratory fees and shipping costs, or any legal expenses associated with prosecuting anti-doping and medication control violations or appeals of those prosecutions, as these are now provided for by HISA, HIWU and the FTC.

The industry will also benefit from further cost reductions in existing and new expenses related to anti-doping and medication control because of economies of scale in contracting costs and other economic efficiencies gained through a unified, national program.

Although the full incremental cost to industry is difficult to calculate with certainty, between the offered credits and relief from existing expenses, it is significantly lower than the official budget indicates.

The main components of the budgets include (pre-credit reductions):

• The ADMC Program that will be administered nationally by HIWU: $58,108,758 (inclusive of all sample collection, laboratory analysis, enforcement, and other program costs);
• HISA’s Racetrack Safety Program: $3,654,830;
• HISA’s technology build and maintenance to support its Programs: $5,466,709;
• Costs associated with HISA’s administration and organizational operations: $5,279,365 (of which $1,800,000 is budgeted for defending against litigation challenging HISA and related expenses)

“The 2023 assessment balances HISA’s commitment to cost efficiency with the fact that the industry has historically underinvested in safety and integrity,” said HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus. “We are focused on leveraging existing state resources for anti-doping as the foundation on which to build a first-class program for the sport. Under HISA and HIWU, Thoroughbred racing, for the first time, will have uniform national standards and rules for safety and medication, more comprehensive forensic testing, expanded and targeted Out of Competition Testing, a highly qualified national investigative team, and a streamlined and efficient adjudication process. I look forward to deepening collaboration with our SRC counterparts and racetracks across the U.S., especially as we expand our jurisdiction to anti-doping and medication control.”

If an SRC opts-out of paying, it becomes the responsibility of the covered racetracks in the state to collect the fees to pay the HISA assessment.  Additionally, if an SRC does not enter into an agreement with HISA and HIWU, it becomes HIWU’s responsibility to assume all sample collection responsibilities in that state.

From the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority