The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) Safety and Integrity Alliance today released the updated Code of Standards for 2010 that has been adopted by the NTRA Board of Directors. The updated Code will serve as the basis for future racetrack Alliance accreditation. The Alliance, formed in October 2008 with the goal of establishing national uniform standards in the areas of safety and integrity, includes 55 racetracks in North America and every major national horsemen's organization. Eighteen racetracks have been inspected to date by Alliance safety teams. Sixteen tracks are fully accredited.

 

The Alliance's Code of Standards for 2010, which has been expanded to include wagering security among the primary areas of inspection, can be viewed at www.NTRAalliance.com. The wagering security portion of the Code establishes guidelines and protocols in areas including stop wagering devices, time stamping, cancel delays and wagering incident investigation. Other new standards pertain to continuing education for trainers; adoption of the ARCI model rule on substance abuse; adoption of the ARCI model rule regarding the jockeys' scale of weights; medical coverage of at least $1 million per accident for all jockeys; implementation of quality assurance programs at testing laboratories; and the establishment of protocols for infectious disease management and fire safety.  Standards regarding fundraising to support the placement of retired racehorses, and safety equipment to be worn by all racetrack personnel while on horseback have been strengthened for 2010.

 

Compliance standards now cover six broad areas: injury reporting and prevention; creating a safer racing environment; aftercare and transition of retired racehorses; medication and testing; jockey safety and health; and wagering security. Within those six categories, specific standards will focus on many areas including:

 

 

"We've been complying with the Alliance's wagering security standards since the beginning of our current meeting, and those very protocols were followed during a recent wagering incident," said Keeneland's President and CEO Nick Nicholson.  "Integrity and transparency go hand in hand, and both are essential to protect and advance the public's confidence in our wagering product. We urge other tracks to adopt the Alliance wagering standards on behalf of their customers."

 

"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.

 

"The addition of the wagering security and integrity protocols is the single biggest change to the Alliance's 2010 Code of Standards," said Mike Ziegler, Executive Director of the NTRA Safety and Integrity Alliance.  "The remainder of the Code reflects our pledge to continuously strengthen all of its standards on behalf of our sport's human and equine athletes."

 

The NTRA Safety and Integrity Alliance is a standing organization whose purpose is to establish standards and practices to promote safety and integrity in horseracing and to secure their implementation. Information on the Alliance, including the Alliance Code of Standards, can be found at www.NTRAalliance.com.

 

The Honorable Tommy G. Thompson, former four-term Governor of Wisconsin and U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, serves as independent monitor of the Alliance and will provide public reports on Alliance progress in instituting safety and integrity standards.

 

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