The Water Hay Oats Alliance Announces Dissolution

In a March 27 release, Staci Hancock, managing member of The Water Hay Oats Alliance, announced the dissolution of the group that was instrumental in passing the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act.

The full release follows.

For a handful of owners and breeders, it all started with a simple idea—to appoint an independent, gold-standard, anti-doping agency to oversee our sport. Today marks the first day of a new age in U.S. horse racing under the jurisdiction of HISA and its Anti-Doping and Medication Control Committee. 

For WHOA, it's "mission accomplished," almost. While we can celebrate that against all odds a federal bill was passed bringing national uniformity to drug and medication rules, missing from the equation is the international excellence and independence USADA would have brought to racing. 

We have all fought the good fight, but it has been made clear to us through the action and inaction of HISA, that WHOA does not have a seat at the table moving forward. Therefore, WHOA is disbanding. 

"It's not exactly what we wanted, but it's what we've got. Hopefully, it's a huge step in the right direction, assuming HISA does not become an unwieldy behemoth," said WHOA co-founder Arthur Hancock. 

"While HISA is not perfect, it is certainly a positive addition for racing," added WHOA co-founder George Strawbridge.

"Without the formation of WHOA, we would not be where we are today on the doorstep of a new era for horse racing with the beginning of HISA. No doubt WHOA was the fire that brought necessary change to our industry with national rules and regulations," said Graham Motion, a WHOA supporter and member of the HISA Horsemen's Advisory Group.

Barry Irwin, long-time WHOA supporter and member of the HISA Anti-Doping Medication Control Committee commented, "The fight to get the legislation passed that eventually led to HISA provided me with the greatest challenge of my involvement in racing. It proved to be both the most formidable and satisfying challenge of my life. While WHOA's mission in one sense was not fulfilled, I think we can all stand tall and feel good about doing something that most in the industry doubted could be done."

Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. I urge individual WHOA members to remain a part of the conversation and to continue to call for program improvements and complete transparency from HISA. They hold the future of our sport and the welfare of our horses and jockeys in their hands. 

Heartfelt thanks for your support and your resilience…

Sincerely,

Staci Hancock

Managing Member of The Water Hay Oats Alliance

The release went on to thank members.

WHOA members worked hand in glove with Congressmen Andy Barr (R-KY) and Paul Tonko (D-NY) in the House of Representatives. Tirelessly, we worked together to spearhead the push for federal legislation to solve these "whoas" and ultimately helped pass a bill that included the core of our mission.  

At the end of the day, WHOA's membership grew from a handful to over 2,000 industry participants—a mighty force.

Thanks go to each and every member who took a stand and joined our efforts; members who networked with other like-minded associates, who contributed to our Water Hay Oats Political Action Committee, who lobbied their state representatives, who signed amicus briefs to defeat opponents of our efforts in the courts. Thanks go to our over 100 Supporters who shared their celebrity, releasing personal opinions on the issue in public statements. Thanks go to our pro-bono team: Monica Driver and Marcelo Arruda at Eqqus Media for developing and managing the WHOA website, Ruthie Bowen at the Bell Group for advertising and marketing, and Paul Sullivan at Frost-Brown-Todd for legal advice and direction. Thanks go to Sue Finley at the Thoroughbred Daily News and Ray Paulick at the Paulick Report for keeping WHOA's efforts alive in the press.

We congratulate the WHOA Supporters who have gone on to serve under the HISA umbrella: Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear as vice chairman of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority Board of Directors, Irwin as a member of the HISA Anti-Doping Medication Control Committee and Mark Casse and Motion as members of the HISA Horsemen's Advisory Group.