Racing commissioners are 'concerned' over HISA's progress
The Board of the Association of Racing Commissioners International voted unanimously Friday to urge the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority to select someone with experience and intricate knowledge of U.S. state government operations in order to effectuate a smooth implementation of the reforms embodied in the new US federal law.
“Failure to appoint someone who does not have this level of expertise jeopardizes a successful and timely implementation by July 1, (2022) as required by law," said Robert Lopez, ARCI chairman. "As the implementation is complicated and sensitive as to preserve millions of dollars in public funding for programs that will become the responsibility of the Authority, someone who clearly has experience with the ins and outs of state budgets, operations, public private partnerships, and a familiarity of the U.S. and state governmental processes is absolutely necessary.”
The ARCI Board was informed by HISA Directors this morning that they have conducted a worldwide search and that the Authority is seeking to finalize a selection.
The HISA had retained the services of Executive Search firm Russell Reynolds to recruit a replacement for Interim Executive Director Hank Zeitlin. The RCI has been informed that HISA hopes to have someone in the position by the end of January.
At the meeting ARCI President Ed Martin stressed the importance of someone who can hit the ground running as state specific agreements need to be negotiated in order to successfully preserve and leverage the publicly funded infrastructure and not impose an impossible financial burden on owners, trainers, and racetracks.
RCI has expressed concerns that literally tens of millions of dollars in public funding for integrity programs could be jeopardized unless rules were crafted and operational agreements finalized between both the HISA and its Enforcement Agency, which has yet to be put under contract.
“To say we’re concerned, is an understatement,” said Martin.