Statement on The Jockey Club’s Relationship with HISA
We’re issuing this statement to directly address recent questions raised about The Jockey Club’s role in data security and our relationship with HISA’s information systems.
While The Jockey Club is a strong supporter of the institutional necessity of HISA, we want to be clear that we have no impact or influence on HISA’s daily operations or any facet of their software development. That’s intentional. In order for HISA to be successful, it must operate with independence and without interference from any outside organization, including ours.
For further clarity, The Jockey Club provides HISA with a range of data as outlined below:
• Racing: Information on entries, results, and workouts.
• Covered Horses: Information such as name, reference number, sex, color, year of birth, dam, claims information, state veterinarian’s list details, veterinary treatment and procedure records, and specific health information (e.g., vaccinations, Coggins, and health certificates).
• Connections: Information on jockey, trainer, and owner name.
The Jockey Club receives the following information from HISA (subject to role-based security controls), which is used by racetrack racing offices during the entry process to determine eligibility of participants and by regulatory veterinarians to ensure the welfare and safety of horses competing in races:
• Covered Horses: HISA number, veterinarian’s list information, location, time-limited treatment records (temporarily available to regulatory veterinarians, information not stored), and race eligibility (temporarily available, information not stored).
• Connections: jockey, trainer, and owner HISA number.
As stated previously, The Jockey Club members do not have special access to the HISA portal as a result of their membership.
We understand the stakes. We hear the concerns of horse owners, trainers, horseplayers and participants in every corner of the sport. Data on industry-regulated systems must be accurate, secure, and easy to navigate in order to succeed.
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Tthe Travers Stakes and five other Grade 1events have been drawn on a 14-race program representing the best equine talent assembled in one place this year Saturday at Saratoga Race Course.
As for the Derby of Midsummer, it’ deeper than it has been in years, including all three Triple Crown classics winners, the Grade 1 Haskell and Arkansas Derby winners, the G2 Louisiana Derby, as well as the G3 Southwest, Indiana and Tampa Derby victors.
And ta highly regarded Chad Brown to be named later, ;ea Strike, impressive winner of the listed Curlin Stakes at the Spa August 2. The meet’s leading trainer is still seeking his first Travers victory.
With a deep dive still; a day or two away, we would not be shocked if any of five were to win it, price shot Silent Tactic (10-1), and, from the inside out, Napoleon Solo (8-1), The Puma (8-1), Renegade (3-1) and, of course, Derby and Belmont champion, Golden Tempo (5-2).
The only significant figure among the missing is four-time Eclipse Award-winning rider, the injured Irad Ortiz Jr., who will be replaced by strong-finishing Tyler Gaffalione on Renegade.
Looking forward to drilling down into the Travers and the other Grade 1s with their divisional championship implications—not to mention Saturday’s all-encompassing wagering menu. Stay tuned …
SCANDALS ODDS-ON TO OCCUR Whether your perspective is one of an owner, trainer, jockey, horse player, animal lover, or just a devoted racing super-fan, several recent issues loom indefensible.
Topped by the glamour summer meets in Saratoga New York and Oceanside California, it is scandals that have attracted attention in recent weeks as the best of Thoroughbred racing has played out in the shadows of greed and privilege.
To lend some perspective, I recall a story a clocker shard with me four decades ago about workout hijinks. Recall that purses were nowhere near today’s level, so horsemen needed to cash the occasional bet to remain liquid—even one who won five consecutive Belmonts.
As the tale goes, Woody Stephens enlisted one of his hardboot brethren, explained he had a fast two-year-old he wanted to bet but didn’t want the clockers or public to know exactly how fast. The horse was.
“Tell the clocker you’re working a team and one of them will be my two-year-old.”
The team worked, and when the trainer of record called to see what times were assigned to the horses, he was told:
“Your horse worked in a minute—and you can tell Woody his went in fifty-nine and three.”
As the great Harvey Pack would say, both privately and in public: “I believe information on first-time starter should belong to those who are paying the bills or teaching them how to run.”
I never reported on our conversation. First, I didn’t know the name of the horse and did not want to reveal my source. Truth is I laughed when I heard the story; I wasn’t offended.
A horseman looking for an edge? Do you know a horse player who wouldn’t take advantage of inside info?
Times have changed, obviously. Horses are bought and sold for millions; they race for millions.
Bul multi-millions are bet everyday around the world, such as the Fair Hill’s alleged hidden work scenario where mega-bets were placed with British bookmakers. This Maryland-based training center was rife for workout hijinks.
The Fair Hill training center can accommodate 1.200 horses, and how many clockers does it have to cover training hours? One.
One!
Workout procedure is virtually the same all over A trainer reports to a clocker the name of the horse(s) to be timed and the distance of the workout(s). Once reported, the timer shares that information with a person who calls the information in to Daily Racing Form, Equibase, or any other sanctioned data collector and disseminator.
Is it any wonder that information often falls through the cracks?
The trainers that pulled off several successful betting coups reportedly cashed low seven-figure payoffs with foreign bookmakers. The horses were not winning fixed races–the horses still needed to earn first or in any of four popular vertical payoff positions.
The perpetrators reportedly arrived at Fair Hill about a month before to record the three-published-works minimum requirement So the races weren’t fixed, competition from inferior rivals was assure vs dropdowns returning from long layups, replete with very slow workouts.
The scandal wasn’t the same as 1977’s Lebon-Cinzano ringer case in New York, but the premise was the same—beat up on overmatched, slower horses.
It wasn’t long before another scandal surfaced in which a horse owner and Jockey Club member used privileged access to obtain private veterinary information on any registered Thoroughbred before purchasing or claiming ready-made horses from other horsemen.
No one in this game will find it easy to ignore the taking an edge if they believe they can get away with it. This includes all stakeholders, including horse players. That’s always been the case in horse racing, it’s part of the fabric; the allure associated with winning at any game of chance.
Hidden cameras, deflate-gate, steroid-use, anyone?
The truth is when it comes to betting information, the public never had it as good as they do now. The rest is research.
I acknowledge human foibles, but do not condone this type of activity. My argument is with any organizations responsible for safeguarding the sport whatever the activity, especially involving transparency, woefully lacking when any issue is investigated and adjudicated.
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this is a live column that will be updated throughout the week
5 Responses
It’s wild that there is only one sanctioned clocker at Fair Hill. What Marshall Gramm did was clearly wrong, and he obviously went to measures to steal information that wasn’t supposed to be available to him, and you couldn’t just stumble upon innocently. He 100% knew what he was doing was wrong. I am hesitant to give a pass to the thief who claims the homeowner is primarily to blame since he left one of the back windows unlocked.
Gramm doesn’t get a pass from me either Doc, he knew exactly what he wanted to do with the data he lifted …
Racing is at a crossroads at this moment concerning the ever present scandals that corrupt the integrity factor of the game. I know that when you combine money and humans there will always be the greed factor to try and get an edge, (legal or illegal).
My question is how do we keep the bettors from distancing themselves from the races? Your articles throughout the years consistently and factually pointed out the injustices to the bettors, horses and players. That’s what award winning journalists are supposed to do!!! Look at the courageous stance your colleague Mark Berner took a few years ago about the treatment of these noble horses.
imo; until i see a concrete national racing rules platform established the best just continues.
Thanks for the props, Jack. Doing as you say, that’s what I promised Dick Sandler–the first and best sports editor I ever worked for, who hired me at Newsday n 1976– would try to do.
And, yes, that was a thought-provoking and comprehensive piece from Mark Berner here several years ago, and the machinations he wrote about truthfully hastened the retirement of Mark and Tom Jichal.
Obviously, I chose to stay the course, however frustrating it continues to be.
Sadly, I think you’re correct that without concrete national rules, the beat will continue.
Nothing will happen, is my bet.
Racing always was about maintaining the status quo.
Mike Repole is out there on Twitter trying to shake the trees. His actions are very well intended,
and I will continue to support those efforts.
You speak the truth from experience.
I still wake up everyday and look forward to a day of racing with a positive attitude. The things I can’t control I’ll talk about at times but I don’t fall if the tracks.