Integrity and New Penalty Database

It was a busy week with several HANA folks meeting this year at Keeneland. We should have some reports on the week that was in the days that follow.

One gentleman who has been particularly active lately is Mike Maloney, HANA's vice President of Regulatory Affairs. First Mike was involved with the Safety Alliance with the NTRA, which was discussed this week:


"HANA supports the NTRA Safety and Integrity Alliance's new wagering security guidelines," said Mike Maloney, Vice President, Regulatory Affairs for the Horseplayers Association of North America (HANA). "We believe the guidelines are a good step toward proper security of the wagering pools.

Please read more about NTRA's efforts and the details here. If you have any questions or comments, please let us know via email. We will make sure Mike gets it.

For another look at Mike and others work on the pari-mutuel side, click here.

In addition, HANA members have been involved with reporting mechanisms for trainers who receive positive tests. It has been a long-held complaint that these penalties are not transparent. In addition, when penalties are reported without details of said penalties, it tends to lead to horseplayer frustration. In a good first step, a database of infractions, available right over the web was designed by the rmtc:

Also during the board meeting, RMTC Director of Communications Hallie Lewis announced the creation of a Recent Rulings Database to go live immediately on rmtcnet.com.

“I am excited about this project because I believe it fulfills a need in the industry,” said RMTC Executive Director Dr. Scot Waterman. “Members of HANA (Horseplayers Association of North America), racing fans and participants have voiced their desire for transparency and easy-to-access data on drug-related rulings. To our knowledge, this is the only database in existence that allows viewers to see not only the infractions but also a description of the possible uses and effects of the drug in the horse. We hope that this will begin the process of better clarifying the difference between medication management mistakes and more serious drug violations.”

To access the database and to learn more about the therapeutic and non-therapeutic drugs that occur in racing, please click here. Just mouse over the violation if you want to receive and explanation.

We hope to have Mike's interview on TVG up this week sometime, and as well, HANA President Jeff Platt should have an update on the CHRB board meeting that he attended last Thursday. And of course: hopefully a blog post and a picture or two from this past week at Keeneland!