The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) has announced that several proposed rule changes to its Racetrack Safety Program have been approved by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and will go into effect on Monday, July 8. Chief among these changes is the increased standdown time for fetlock corticosteroid injections, which will be 14 days before working and 30 days before racing. The standdown time is doubled from the previous rules. Updates to current prohibited practices include that foals of 2023 or later (beginning with 2-year-olds of 2025) which have had their shins pin/freeze-fired will NOT be able to participate in Covered Horserace or Workout. The new rules will provide a second waiver claiming option, in which a horse returning from a layoff may make two starts with the claiming price waived, provided certain conditions are met:the waiver was in place in the horse’s first start back AND the horse did not win that race; there was no change in majority ownership; and the horse is entered for a claiming price equal to or greater than the tag for which it last started. The void claim rule has also been updated. HISA will now be required to inform a claimant if the horse returns a positive test from the race in which it was claimed. Claimants will have 48 hours to decide whether to void the claim or keep the horse. However, if the horse has already started under new ownership, it will not be possible to void the claim. A post-workout blood test will be required for horses coming off the vet’s list for unsoundness, epistaxis (bleeding), those that have not raced in over 365 days, or unraced 4-year-olds.
