HISA Adds Four New Members to Horsemen's Advisory Group

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority welcomes four new members to its Horsemen's Advisory Group: consignor Craig Bandoroff, owner Jonathan Green, owner Michael Levinson, and trainer Todd Pletcher.

The Horsemen's Advisory Group is the body of racing industry participants formed in 2022 to provide formal feedback to HISA's executive team and Standing Committees. The new members will replace outgoing members Mark Casse, Tom Drury Jr., Linda Gaudet, Fred Hertrich III, David Ingordo, and Tom Robbins.

"I want to thank all of the members of the Horsemen's Advisory Group who are rotating off their roles. Their dedication and insightful feedback have been instrumental in tangible changes that have made HISA's rules better," said HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus. "As we welcome a new group of horsemen, I look forward to continuing our collaboration and further improving HISA's programs. Their guidance and input will be invaluable as we work together to uphold the integrity and safety of Thoroughbred racing."

Craig Bandoroff owns and operates Denali Stud with his son Conrad. Denali Stud, an 800-acre nursery located in Paris, Ky., is annually a leading consignor in Thoroughbred auctions in Kentucky and Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Prior to establishing Denali in 1990, Bandoroff worked at Fasig-Tipton auction house and Barry Weisbord's Executive Bloodstock. 

Jonathan Green lives in New Jersey and manages D.J. Stable, one of the country's largest racing and breeding operations. Under his leadership, D.J. Stable has achieved international success with two Sovereign Awards, two Eclipse Awards (Jaywalk  and Wonder Wheel ), 14 leading owner Titles, more than 150 stakes victories, and 2,500 overall wins. In addition, D.J. Stable has sold over $100 million of horses at public auction.

Michael Levinson is the racing manager and part-owner of L&N Racing, based in Tulsa, Okla. L&N Racing was formed in 2014 and has 30 Thoroughbreds in ownership or part ownership groups. In partnership with Winchell Thoroughbreds, Levinson's L&N Racing campaigned champion 2-year-old filly Echo Zulu .

Todd Pletcher is a Hall of Fame trainer based in New York. He began his training career in 1996 and his horses have won more than 5,700 races with amassed earnings of more than $485 million, which leads all trainers. Pletcher has won the Eclipse Award for outstanding trainer eight times.

The Horsemen's Advisory Group has been instrumental in recommending several meaningful changes to HISA rules that have been submitted to the Federal Trade Commission, including:

• Delaying provisional suspensions trainer until the B sample has confirmed the presence of a banned substance.
• Creating a rule on handling findings of human drugs of abuse, such as methamphetamine, cocaine, etc. It caps sanctions at 60 days, with the possibility to reduce the sanction further.
• Re-classifying Altrenogest from a banned substance to a controlled medication.
• Allowing unsupplemented isotonic electrolyte solutions by oral or intravenous administration up to 24 hours before post time.
• Eliminating suspensions for violations related to working a horse within seven days of an intra-articular injection.
• Treating the first positive vets' list sample for a controlled medication as a warning and reducing the penalty for ulcer medication in vets' list samples from a sanction to a warning.
• Allowing up to a four-millimeter full rim horseshoe or up to a four-millimeter toe grab for the hind legs for horses racing on dirt.

The Horsemen's Advisory Group also prompted HISA to reach out to sales companies to involve them in strengthening anti-doping and medication control policies for horses at major auctions.

The Horsemen's Advisory Group has 18 members, including trainers, owners, veterinarians, backstretch employees, and representatives of racing offices and aftercare initiatives.