Horsemen get extra day to register with federal authority

The deadline for horsemen to register their barns with the new Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority has been pushed back one day to Saturday, July 2, a HISA statement said Thursday.

HISA's jurisdiction over racing begins next Friday, but "covered horses” and “covered persons” now have until next Saturday. Anyone not registered will be unable to run in any race that falls under HISA’s jurisdiction. This applies to any race on which out-of-state bets are accepted.

HISA also clarified questions about transferring records upon a claim. The records required to be transferred to the trainer of a claimed horse include “only records of medical, therapeutic, and surgical treatments or procedures.” Training and workout schedules will not need to be included. The HISA document also clarified that records kept prior to July 1 will not be required to be transferred to the connections of a claimed horse after the effective date of HISA’s jurisdiction.

More clarification comes as well concerning specifics about what parts of a horse can be treated with pin-firing or freeze-firing. Also, the definition of electrical devices used in treatments within 48 hours of race days and training has been broadened to include any electrical devices which alleviate pain thus compromising the ability to assess a horse's soundness. And training has been defined to mean "published high-speed workouts."