Reform a Hot Issue at Jockey Club Round Table

Reforms in diversity, integrity, safety, and marketing were all touched upon during The Jockey Club's 68th annual Round Table Conference on Matters Pertaining to Racing Aug. 16. Normally held in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., this year's Round Table went digital due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Industry figures as well as leaders from other sports shared their thoughts on how horse racing can improve and grow:

Adams: Focus on Diversity of Thought

Katrina Adams, the immediate past chairperson, president, and CEO of the United States Tennis Association, was the first guest to appear on the virtual stream. The first former professional tennis player, first African American, and youngest person ever to serve as USTA president, Adams encouraged the horse racing industry to focus on diversity of thought.

"What that means is be a little more open-minded as to who's sitting at the table making decisions, whether it's based on race, gender, ethnicity, or socioeconomic backgrounds," Adams said. "This is a way to be more inclusive to understand what the needs are of your constituents and future clients of your industry."

Adams said at the USTA she focused on making sure that tennis "looked like America," with the goal to have the same percentage of every background equal to that of the United States. An initiative she took up included reaching out to the Hispanic communities to increase their engagement in the sport. The USTA created toolkits to go into the community, local programs, schools, and churches, and Adams said the organization was successful in raising the numbers of Hispanic community members in tennis.

Diversity of thought is a challenge for horse racing and other sports in the country right now, Adams said. She added that embracing that aspect would allow for more creativity for ways to engage future fans.

"There are a lot of diverse dollars out there that can make your sport more successful by perhaps marketing to them. When I say marketing to them, when I open up some of the books or magazines in regards to horse racing, I very seldom see anyone that looks like me," she said. "So I'm saying to myself, 'This is not a sport for me.' Maybe that's intentional, but hopefully it's not. Maybe it's just something that has been overlooked. But I think going forward we all are learning that we need to be a little more inclusive in our marketing materials and the discussions that we're having and the messages that we're sending so that when I pick up a magazine, I see myself in your story."

Sinatra: Swap Claiming for Ratings

Sal Sinatra, the president and general manager of the Maryland Jockey Club, made his case for claiming races to be replaced by a ratings system seen in international jurisdictions.

"We have bastardized this category ad nauseam," Sinatra said of the claiming level. "No other category has enforced us to enact rules upon rules. We have jail time that puts restrictions on new owners for a certain amount of time after a claim. We have waivers to protect horses coming back to the races off a layoff. We have voided claim rules for horses that have returned with an injury. We have sub-categories that have reduced claiming classes to algebraic equations.

"This category has also coined such tasteless phrases as 'cut them in half and lose them' and 'squeeze one more race out of them.' As an industry, we have created an arena that is both detrimental to the horse and unsustainable to the owners."

Sinatra stated that claiming races comprise about 80% of U.S. races. He said outside of buying a horse directly, the claiming model leaves owners two options to build their stable. The first he mentioned is claiming horses and running them back to replenish the investment cost, or claiming price. The second is to breed a horse by paying for a stud fee and all the costs that go into raising a horse and preparing it to race. Sinatra said if a horse only shows average ability once at the track, owners are at risk of losing the horse by running it in a claiming race in order to be competitive.

"The horse is now devalued and has entered the claiming cycle," he said. "If he has any ability, he's likely to be recycled through the claim box until he can no longer race or possibly worse."

Sinatra argued for a ratings system to be implemented that would allow horses to run at a competitive level without a tag. He added that ratings are a part of American sports and that a ratings system would make horse racing palatable to more sports fans, especially since it has competition with sports wagering and fantasy sports.

"Ratings are used throughout Europe and Australia, they're used in steeplechase racing, and to some extent Standardbred racing, all with some success. Implementing a rating system would have a myriad of benefits to American racing," Sinatra said. "Ratings would help group horses with like ability, creating a more competitive race and ultimately a more interesting betting option for fans. Even horses with lesser abilities would find their level and their owners could enjoy them without losing their investment.

"This would help eliminate the 'drop them and lose them' mentality, it would help eliminate the suspicious behaviors, and it would force horses that improve dramatically to be moved up in class rather than being jammed in and beating the same horses day in and day out."

Panel: Trainers on International Rules

One of the longer portions of Sunday's Round Table came in the form of a panel discussion featuring trainers Mark Casse, John Gosden, and Jessica Harrington. Moderated by Matt Iuliano, the executive vice president and executive director of The Jockey Club, the discussion covered a broad range of topics pertaining to the international rules of training, including the most significant changes trainers have seen within the breed and within the practice of training itself. 

In the opening question, Iuliano asked the panel to address the growing perception that the Thoroughbred breed as a whole has lost its durability. With breakdowns plaguing many of the headlines in North America and an ever-increasing emphasis on breeding for commercialism, Gosden said there could be little doubt that the business of breeding racehorses has changed, and likely not for the better. 

"If you go back in time, horses were bred very much to race," Gosden said. "They were under pretty Spartan rules of good, old-fashioned Darwinism to the extent that if there was a flaw in the family, the breeder would try and eradicate it. But what happened from 1980 onward was that I think people started breeding for the sales and not to race. Therefore, certain weaknesses were tolerated. 

"It is quite interesting to note that the influence of breeding for the sales has driven the role of breeding probably in the wrong direction—the commercial direction." 

"I would agree with that totally," echoed Harrington. "It's become a beauty contest at the sales, and if horses are not correct, agents and people looking at them will take them off their lists. A lot of owner/breeders will send us horses that they couldn't sell at the sales, and yet they're very good racehorses."

Adding to Gosden's and Harrington's points, Casse also pointed out that the increase in the use of medications beginning in a Thoroughbred's infancy has set a dangerous precedent and possibly increased the instance of injuries on the track. 

"Not long ago I went on a Clenbuterol crusade. It's a drug that is not being used for the reason it was meant but as an anabolic steroid," Casse said. "I was amazed at the response I got back from how many people used it on weanlings and yearlings. It increases muscle mass, but more importantly it decreases bone density. I think they're stressing them too much prior to sales. Let horses be horses." 

Casse was also quick to point out that many horses racing today have seen an overall decline in the number of starts, a possible consequence of what he sees as a growing pressure on trainers to deliver better win percentages and a lack of available race options for new runners. 

"Seabiscuit started 35 times as a 2-year-old," Casse said. "We've gotten too worried about our win percentages. Trainers don't want to run their horses unless they have the right spots. I run a lot of horses. I'll start somewhere about 1,000 horses a year, and to start those 1,000 starts I'll have to enter about 4,000 times. It now makes sense to have a cheap claimer, so a lot of good horses sit there and don't get to run. I would venture to say my good horses could run 30% to 40% more times than they get to run." 

Another significant point of discussion on the panel was the pervasive use of drugs, both legal and illegal, on both sides of the Atlantic. In light of recent rule changes in the U.S. and the arrests of several prominent trainers for the use of illegal substances, Gosden said he understood that while several commonly used drugs such as Lasix had therapeutic uses, their overuse was an issue that needed to be addressed sooner rather than later. 

"As regards the use of those drugs (Lasix and Phenylbutazone or "Bute") I understood why they were being used," Gosden said. "It seems that there are extraordinary drugs being used by vets there (in the U.S.). Some of these things I don't know what they are. The use of those things should be stamped out. 

"If I have a horse who is a really bad bleeder and I go into a major workout 10 days ahead of the race, I will administer Lasix then, 10 days out from the race. That is the only way I use it. I'm not only talking about Lasix here, but there has to be an issue in this day and age to know that a horse, the night before a race, let alone the morning of a race—and this is an athlete—is permitted to have an intravenous injection. It's a little hard to think of any other athlete in any sport where that would be tolerated. I think it's something in America that will have to be cleaned up."

"I basically will use the medication when it's therapeutic," Harrington said. "Bute is only used when we've got an injury and we want to keep the horse comfortable. I'm a great believer in using other forms of keeping the horses right. Between massages, ice, boots, magneto pulse, and trying to keep the muscles right and keeping them mentally in a good place without pain."

While Casse admitted that the improper use of drugs such as Lasix was a problem, the Hall of Fame trainer said his concern was that the misuse of such drugs was only the tip of the iceberg. Casse stressed his desire to have a central operating body within the industry, especially North America, capable of finding and punishing offenders accordingly.

"My concern is that there are a lot bigger problems out there in the U.S. other than Lasix," Casse said. "Personally, I'm so fed up. I question how long I want to even continue to train. We're not, as horse trainers, sending a man or woman to the moon. We're not rocket scientists. But we see crazy things happening. I commend The Jockey Club for going out. Everybody knew things weren't right, and it turned out we found that. I appreciate that, and I thought it was one of the greatest things The Jockey Club could do. But I hope they don't stop there because there are more bad apples, and I think when they find the bad apples, they don't need to be slapped on the hand, they need to be thrown out.

"I've seen it up close and personal. We make all the rules in the world, but if there is not someone out there policing those rules, the bad guys get that much stronger. It's a disadvantage to us, and it's not fair to the men and women who want to play by the rules. In this sport, you have to decide what is more important, winning at all costs or your dignity."

Costas: Industry Needs to Reform Itself

Sportscaster Bob Costas addressed the "current state and future prospects of horse racing."

"This magnificent sport, with such a rich and storied history, is at a crossroads," he said. "The accumulation of data—undeniable data—public pressure from the outside, and increasingly from the inside; the events that have taken place at Santa Anita in recent years, and elsewhere; horse racing is at a crossroads."

He stated the industry needs to reform itself "significantly" in order to remain viable, saying it is the humane and moral thing to do.

"These magnificent equine athletes deserve to be treated with the care and dignity and respect they deserve," he said. "Not just on the days when everybody is watching at the big events, but 365 days a year. It's the right thing to do for that reason."

Costas wrapped up by reflecting on his many years as a sportscaster for NBC that provided many Triple Crown memories.

LeMond: Thoughts on Performance-Enhancing Drugs

Cyclist Greg LeMond spoke to The Jockey Club president James Gagliano on the importance of clean competition.

A two-time winner of the Road Race World Championship and a three-time winner of the Tour de France, LeMond is also an avid anti-doping advocate. He explained that while he was racing, there was significant pressure to use performance-enhancing substances.

"I was pushed out of the team. That's the inner-team deal: If you don't participate in a drug program you're slowly weeded out," he said about the culture of cycling in the late '80s and early '90s.

LeMond testified before the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency in 2007, and he reiterated to Gagliano how doping will undermine a sport and how crucial USADA's role has been in cycling.

"It's been critical because when you look at the doping and what's happening in cycling, it's really about corruption. … If you hear about people getting away with it that are obviously cheating, not being held accountable, it plays havoc on the rest of the riders."              

Gagliano later explained that the racing industry is looking, through federal legislation, to have USADA in charge of monitoring drug issues.

"A clean race is much more dramatic than a doped race, and I do believe that people want to know who wins legitimately. A clean sport is really good for business, too," LeMond concluded. "People need to know it's not fixed. … It's really cracking down on the people that have been making money off of cheating. They need to have real severe consequences. Not just kicked out or a one-time suspension. It needs to be for life."

Janney: Integrity a Must

In his closing remarks, The Jockey Club chairman Stuart Janney III touched on the importance of integrity, a necessary component to grow the sport, and noted The Jockey Club's support of the Horse Racing Integrity Act, 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 U.S.

He also said he expects more arrests following the March federal indictments of 27 people, including trainers Jason Servis and Jorge Navarro, charged in a performance-enhancing drug scheme. 

"I have no doubt that there are many arrests pending," Janney said. "Fortunately they will happen, but just not as soon as we would like."