Round Table Agenda: Country's Big Issues Impact Racing

From the format itself to the issues that will be discussed, The Jockey Club's Round Table Conference on Matters Pertaining to Racing this year will be shaped by the big issues that have impacted the entire country.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, this year's event will be held virtually when it's presented at 10 a.m., Sunday, Aug. 16. When industry leaders, participants and fans watch the stream available at jockeyclub.com or through TVG Sunday, they'll see a timely set of topics related both to COVID-19's impact as well as the ongoing racial reckoning in the country.

Bob Costas, former sportscaster for NBC Sports and current sportscaster for MLB Network, will discuss covering the Triple Crown races and the challenges faced by sports in 2020. Prior to leaving NBC Sports in 2019, Costas co-anchored or hosted its coverage of baseball, football, basketball, hockey, golf, NASCAR, boxing, the Olympics, and horse racing. Costas co-hosted NBC's coverage of the Kentucky Derby (G1) from 2001-2018.

As for the COVID-19 impact on the industry itself, while many race dates were lost, some tracks were able to continue thanks to racing's network of advance-deposit wagering providers. The sport's ability to continue on some level, at a time that every major team sport in the United States paused or delayed its season, created new exposure for racing on television and has helped fuel support of the available product as handle per race day is up 42% this season. 

Those trends figure to be noted by Equibase president and COO Jason Wilson when he provides an update on the activities of The Jockey Club; and Stuart Janney III, when The Jockey Club chairman offers some closing remarks.

As for the other big national issue this year, Katrina Adams, the immediate past president of the United States Tennis Association, will discuss the importance of diversity. Adams previously served two terms as the USTA's chairman and president and was an accomplished professional tennis player on the Women's Tennis Association Tour for 12 years. Adams was the first African American, first former professional tennis player, and youngest person ever to serve as USTA president.

Beyond those presentations, the Jockey Club's continued push for improved integrity in the sport will be highlighted.

Jim Gagliano, president and CEO of The Jockey Club, will interview three-time Tour de France winner Greg LeMond about anti-doping measures and the importance of clean competition. LeMond has been outspoken about performance-enhancing drugs for more than 30 years and has testified before the United States Anti-Doping Agency.

Trainers Mark Casse, John Gosden, and Jessica Harrington will discuss training and competing in different jurisdictions in a panel moderated by Matt Iuliano, executive vice president and executive director of The Jockey Club. 

The Jockey Club has supported federal legislation that would provide USADA with oversight of the sport's equine drug testing and medication rules and end the use of race-day Lasix in the United States. In January, the bill received a hearing before a Congressional Subcommittee but it has not advanced since being referred to the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce in mid-March.

Working with state regulators, a number of prominent tracks this year have prohibited the use of race-day Lasix in races for 2-year-olds and next season will extend those prohibitions to stakes races.

Meanwhile, the current system of drug testing and medication regulation was again called into question in early March when prominent trainers Jason Servis and Jorge Navarro were among nearly 30 people indicted on federal charges related to using performance-enhancing drugs.