Churchill Downs, horsemen say HISA costs too much

Setting aside the question some in the industry have regarding whether the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority should even exist, several prominent industry stakeholders appealed to the Federal Trade Commission to look closely at HISA’s proposed operating budget.

HISA proposed a $78.5 million budget for 2026 with an estimated $60.6 million cost to the industry after expected credits. That would be a 3.2% increase from the 2025 budget. Churchill Downs Inc., the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association and horsemen representatives from Delaware, Kentucky, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Nebraska New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania each appealed to the FTC in public responses filed via Regulations.gov.

"HISA has proposed neither a prudent nor cost-effective budget," Churchill Downs Inc. CEO Bill Carstanjen said in his company’s response. "In a time when general agencies are being challenged to manage their costs and identify the value they add, we are aware of no other industry in America that is being failed so dismally by a regulatory agency, and it is appalling that our industry’s recourse is to beg the FTC to pay even a minimal amount of attention.

"Churchill requests that the FTC play the role legislated by Congress and address the absurdities in HISA’s budget that are leading to a vicious cycle of attrition and lasting damage to the horse racing industry."

A common complaint between racetrack operator and horsemen is the per start fee, which averaged $285 in 2023 and is $462 in 2025.

"Horses running for maiden claiming for sale for $5,000 are competing for a $7,000 purse, and the fee is $500 per starter while horses running in the Breeders’ Cup Classic worth millions of dollars running for a $7 million purse pay the same $500 per start; do you see anything fair about that,” asked Indiana HBPA executive director Tim Glyshaw. "This is entirely insane. I know this is a going-through-the-motions process, and you will rubber-stamp whatever HISA asks for, but maybe one of you at the FTC could do a little investigating on the impact this will have to smaller and medium-sized tracks."

A letter signed by the National HBPA took similar umbrage, pointing out its constituents’ concerns with HISA's effect on smaller tracks. HISA refuted these claims both in an official response filed on the government website and in a Q&A HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus did with Thoroughbred Daily News.

"I would say some of that is a false narrative related to the fact that people have a general opposition to HISA because they don’t want to be regulated," Lazarus told TDN. "For example, Emerald Downs just had its best year in a really long time, Turf Paradise was just leased to an investor who plans to put some real money into it, and Tampa Bay Downs has had a good year.

"I would love for somebody to share with me which racetracks are struggling."

Another pain point for budget hawks is the administrative expenses, which have grown from $29.2 million in year one, 2023, to a proposed $41.2 million in 2026, a 41% increase. The letters from both CDI and the National HBPA appeal to the FTC to require HISA to provide more transparency into its operations.

"We do not understand how the FTC can review such summarized budget information showing such lack of detail that there is no way to determine if these expenditures are proper or even legal," the National HBPA’s letter said. "For the FTC to allow the private corporation HISA to justify its bloated budget with such lack of transparency, detail and information again demonstrates the lack of supervision and control FTC has over HISA.

"Without transparent governance, stakeholders cannot meaningfully assess, critique or trust HISA’s proposed expenditures given their steep financial impact. Persistent failures in transparency and governance have resulted in institutional opacity. Unlike state racing commissions, HISA operates as a private entity largely behind closed doors."

CDI concluded its response with an appeal directly from Carstanjen.

"At a minimum, Churchill urges the FTC to reject HISA's proposed budget and require HISA to resubmit it such that the cost per start is set at the rate assessed in 2023, include sufficient detail in the proposed budget so that industry stakeholders and the commission can meaningfully evaluate HISA's expenditures and conduct a thorough accounting of HISA's use of industry funds that it receives from its annual assessments."