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Ask HISA: What’s Happening With The Stayed Cases?

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With a view to pulling the veil back on the hows and whys of their operations, a representative of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) Authority or the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) will every week answer a question of industry importance posed by the TDN.

If you have any questions you’d like to ask HISA or HIWU, please feel free to send them over to us at the following email address: danross@thetdn.com

Q: There appear to be a lot of cases stayed “pending the FTC’s approval of the new Rules.” The Federal Trade Commission has been reviewing these rules since 2023.

What do the rules the FTC is supposed to approve pertain to? Why is it taking so long? And when the FTC finally approves them, what will happen to those cases that have been stayed? Will they all be adjudicated at once?

HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus:
In November 2025, the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) announced that it was seeking public comment on proposed modifications to the Rule Series 1000, 3000 and 4000 of the Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Program Rules. Proposed modifications to the Rule Series 5000 and 7000 were later shared for public comment in January 2026. These changes build upon the original updates that were first submitted to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in November 2023 and supplemented in May 2024.

While HISA is not a government agency and receives no federal funding, we are subject to oversight by the FTC, which has the final say on all proposed rule changes and no rule takes effect unless and until approved by the FTC.

While the initial proposed modifications were pending with the FTC, HISA’s ADMC Committee conducted a comprehensive review of the ADMC Program’s implementation and performance, informed by several additional months of Program operations and industry feedback. This review identified additional opportunities for improvement. Considering these additional changes, HISA asked that the FTC withhold action on the November 2023 submission (and the subsequent May 2024 supplement), until new proposed modifications are filed, which will replace and supersede the earlier submissions.

Among the numerous proposed changes to benefit horsemen are decreased sanctions associated with positive tests for human substances of abuse and Veterinarians’ List Testing, as well as a new category of Controlled Medications (Class D) for anti-ulcer medications that calls for lesser sanctions for associated violations. This year, HISA’s ADMC Committee, in consultation with the Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit (HIWU), is reviewing and considering all relevant comments before recommending proposed modifications to the HISA Board. If approved by the HISA Board, the proposed modifications will then be formally submitted to the FTC for approval.

While the regulatory process unfolds, cases that would be positively affected by the proposed rule modifications have been stayed. While HIWU could choose to process the cases under the current rules, HIWU instead elected to stay impacted cases to provide horsemen with the benefit of the proposed, less punitive rules. The adjudication process will resume for these cases after the FTC acts on the proposed changes.

The types of cases currently stayed include:

• Positive tests for altrenogest: The proposed rules reclassify altrenogest (commonly known as Regumate) from a Banned Substance to a Class A Controlled Medication. This proposed rule change was championed by HISA’s Horsemen’s Advisory Group and subsequently taken up by the ADMC Committee and the HISA Board.
• Positive tests for human substances of abuse: The proposed rules would cap the Period of Ineligibility related to human substances of abuse to up to 60 days if HIWU determines that it has a reasonable basis to conclude that the finding was likely the result of inadvertent human transfer. The current rules treat human substances of abuse like all other Banned Substances, which are subject to periods of Ineligibility of up to two years.
• Positive tests for metformin: A proposed Minimum Reporting Level for metformin was included in the updated rules following a recommendation by the Racing Medication & Testing Consortium’s Scientific Advisory Committee.
• Veterinarians’ List violations. The proposed rules call for decreased sanctions in relation to positive tests in Veterinarians’ List samples, including no period of Ineligibility for a first violation.

Again, these kinds of cases are stayed so they can be subject to the proposed rules, which would provide more favorable outcomes for the affected horsemen than the current rules.

The post Ask HISA: What’s Happening With The Stayed Cases? appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Five Fastest Maidens: May 18-25

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This week’s rankings are topped by another filly coming out of ‘TDN Rising Star’ Mashallah’s (Maxfield) scintillating debut victory at Keeneland.

5. NATIONAL CHARTER, CD, 5/23-6th, 1 mile (VIDEO)
Beyer Speed Figure-86
(c, 3, by Constitution–Totally Tucker, by Elusive Quality)
O-BBN Racing. B-Woodford Thoroughbreds (Ky). T-Rusty Arnold. J-Luis Saez.
Especially in hindsight, it was a positive that National Charter was a 5/2 favorite at Keeneland in his debut. The $200,000 yearling was only so-so in defeat that day, but apparently needed a race to get his bearings–he ran 10 lengths faster Saturday to decisively graduate while still a bit green with lead changes. He’s a half-brother to GSW turf sprinter Totally Boss, and his allowance-winning dam (top Beyer 76) is a half-sister to Gr. I winners Majestic Harbor and Danza.

4. EL CAPO, WO, 5/24-10th, 7 furlongs (VIDEO)
Beyer Speed Figure-86
(c, 3, by Authentic–Revitalized, by Uncle Mo)
O-CamHaven Farms. B-Dixiana Farms (Ky). T-Preston Ferris. J-Pablo Moran.
The big stakes-placed El Capo sprinted to a clear lead for the first time in seven lifetime starts, appeared to dwarf rivals in size and then left them in his wake. He won decisively, but not “easily” as the official chart states since Moran kept busy on him through the stretch. His unraced dam is a full-sister to Thrilled, a Michael Tabor-owned filly who was GSP on dirt and grass a decade ago but has done nothing as a producer.

Decisive Win | Benoit

3. FAIRY GODMOTHER, AQU, 5/23-4th, 6 furlongs (turf) (VIDEO)
Beyer Speed Figure-88
(f, 3, by Cairo Prince–Lyrical Tale, by Tale of the Cat)
O/B-Merrylegs Farm/Merrylegs Farm North (NY). T-Ray Handal. J-Dylan Davis.
This massive improvement was tough to predict; otherwise she would have been claimed for $50,000 rather than the well-beaten runnerup. Her dam was better on grass (albeit with a career-best 65 Beyer), as her half-sister Thundering Sky, but still….a 6 1/2-length score and new 39-point Beyer top is another example that none of us are as smart as we think we are.

2. DECISIVE WIN, SA, 5/22-4th, 1 mile (VIDEO)
Beyer Speed Figure-90
(c, 3, by Nyquist–Weekend Away, by Malibu Moon)
O-Great Friends Stables and Mark Davis. B-RTA Family Trust and George E. Saufley (Ky). T-Doug O’Neill. J-Antonio Fresu.
If a fourth-place debut effort should ever be taken with a heaping grain of salt, this was it. Decisive Win was beaten seven lengths at Santa Anita March 7, but the 1-2 finishers were future Pat Day Mile (Gr. II) winner Crude Velocity, unbeaten in three starts and perhaps Bob Baffert’s best 3-year-old; and Civil Liberty, the stablemate of Decisive Win who was already Gr. I placed then broke his maiden at Keeneland with a 98 Beyer. No wonder Decisive Win was 1-to-2 on the board and cruised by 5 1/2 lengths. His name is absent from the colt’s past performances, but Will Farish’s impact on the $600,000 2-year-old purchase is huge: unraced dam Weekend Away is a half-sister to Private Mission as well as the dam of Dunbar Road, and second dam Private Gift is a half-sister to Kentucky Oaks winner Secret Status.

1. IN SCOPE, CD, 5/22-7th, 1 mile (VIDEO)
Beyer Speed Figure-90
(f, 3, by Gun Runner–Brielle’s Appeal, by English Channel)
O-G. Watts Humphrey Jr. B-Dixiana Farms (Ky). T-Rusty Arnold. J-Axel Concepcion.
Keen students of the sport were watching her performance Friday for another referendum on Mashallah, who beat her by 6 3/4 lengths at Keeneland en route to a stratospheric 106 debut Beyer. And the well-bred In Scope’s 3 1/2-length triumph and paired-up but conservative 90 Beyer is more evidence that Mashallah’s figure was legit. Furthermore, two days later Immortalize returned from a fourth in the same April 23 race (five lengths behind In Scope) to beat open maidens, also at Churchill Downs.

The post Five Fastest Maidens: May 18-25 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Ask HISA: What’s Happening With The Stayed Cases?

---

With a view to pulling the veil back on the hows and whys of their operations, a representative of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) Authority or the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) will every week answer a question of industry importance posed by the TDN.

If you have any questions you’d like to ask HISA or HIWU, please feel free to send them over to us at the following email address: danross@thetdn.com

Q: There appear to be a lot of cases stayed “pending the FTC’s approval of the new Rules.” The Federal Trade Commission has been reviewing these rules since 2023.

What do the rules the FTC is supposed to approve pertain to? Why is it taking so long? And when the FTC finally approves them, what will happen to those cases that have been stayed? Will they all be adjudicated at once?

HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus:
In November 2025, the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) announced that it was seeking public comment on proposed modifications to the Rule Series 1000, 3000 and 4000 of the Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Program Rules. Proposed modifications to the Rule Series 5000 and 7000 were later shared for public comment in January 2026. These changes build upon the original updates that were first submitted to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in November 2023 and supplemented in May 2024.

While HISA is not a government agency and receives no federal funding, we are subject to oversight by the FTC, which has the final say on all proposed rule changes and no rule takes effect unless and until approved by the FTC.

While the initial proposed modifications were pending with the FTC, HISA’s ADMC Committee conducted a comprehensive review of the ADMC Program’s implementation and performance, informed by several additional months of Program operations and industry feedback. This review identified additional opportunities for improvement. Considering these additional changes, HISA asked that the FTC withhold action on the November 2023 submission (and the subsequent May 2024 supplement), until new proposed modifications are filed, which will replace and supersede the earlier submissions.

Among the numerous proposed changes to benefit horsemen are decreased sanctions associated with positive tests for human substances of abuse and Veterinarians’ List Testing, as well as a new category of Controlled Medications (Class D) for anti-ulcer medications that calls for lesser sanctions for associated violations. This year, HISA’s ADMC Committee, in consultation with the Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit (HIWU), is reviewing and considering all relevant comments before recommending proposed modifications to the HISA Board. If approved by the HISA Board, the proposed modifications will then be formally submitted to the FTC for approval.

While the regulatory process unfolds, cases that would be positively affected by the proposed rule modifications have been stayed. While HIWU could choose to process the cases under the current rules, HIWU instead elected to stay impacted cases to provide horsemen with the benefit of the proposed, less punitive rules. The adjudication process will resume for these cases after the FTC acts on the proposed changes.

The types of cases currently stayed include:

• Positive tests for altrenogest: The proposed rules reclassify altrenogest (commonly known as Regumate) from a Banned Substance to a Class A Controlled Medication. This proposed rule change was championed by HISA’s Horsemen’s Advisory Group and subsequently taken up by the ADMC Committee and the HISA Board.
• Positive tests for human substances of abuse: The proposed rules would cap the Period of Ineligibility related to human substances of abuse to up to 60 days if HIWU determines that it has a reasonable basis to conclude that the finding was likely the result of inadvertent human transfer. The current rules treat human substances of abuse like all other Banned Substances, which are subject to periods of Ineligibility of up to two years.
• Positive tests for metformin: A proposed Minimum Reporting Level for metformin was included in the updated rules following a recommendation by the Racing Medication & Testing Consortium’s Scientific Advisory Committee.
• Veterinarians’ List violations. The proposed rules call for decreased sanctions in relation to positive tests in Veterinarians’ List samples, including no period of Ineligibility for a first violation.

Again, these kinds of cases are stayed so they can be subject to the proposed rules, which would provide more favorable outcomes for the affected horsemen than the current rules.

The post Ask HISA: What’s Happening With The Stayed Cases? appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Five Fastest Maidens: May 18-25

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This week’s rankings are topped by another filly coming out of ‘TDN Rising Star’ Mashallah’s (Maxfield) scintillating debut victory at Keeneland.

5. NATIONAL CHARTER, CD, 5/23-6th, 1 mile (VIDEO)
Beyer Speed Figure-86
(c, 3, by Constitution–Totally Tucker, by Elusive Quality)
O-BBN Racing. B-Woodford Thoroughbreds (Ky). T-Rusty Arnold. J-Luis Saez.
Especially in hindsight, it was a positive that National Charter was a 5/2 favorite at Keeneland in his debut. The $200,000 yearling was only so-so in defeat that day, but apparently needed a race to get his bearings–he ran 10 lengths faster Saturday to decisively graduate while still a bit green with lead changes. He’s a half-brother to GSW turf sprinter Totally Boss, and his allowance-winning dam (top Beyer 76) is a half-sister to Gr. I winners Majestic Harbor and Danza.

4. EL CAPO, WO, 5/24-10th, 7 furlongs (VIDEO)
Beyer Speed Figure-86
(c, 3, by Authentic–Revitalized, by Uncle Mo)
O-CamHaven Farms. B-Dixiana Farms (Ky). T-Preston Ferris. J-Pablo Moran.
The big stakes-placed El Capo sprinted to a clear lead for the first time in seven lifetime starts, appeared to dwarf rivals in size and then left them in his wake. He won decisively, but not “easily” as the official chart states since Moran kept busy on him through the stretch. His unraced dam is a full-sister to Thrilled, a Michael Tabor-owned filly who was GSP on dirt and grass a decade ago but has done nothing as a producer.

Decisive Win | Benoit

3. FAIRY GODMOTHER, AQU, 5/23-4th, 6 furlongs (turf) (VIDEO)
Beyer Speed Figure-88
(f, 3, by Cairo Prince–Lyrical Tale, by Tale of the Cat)
O/B-Merrylegs Farm/Merrylegs Farm North (NY). T-Ray Handal. J-Dylan Davis.
This massive improvement was tough to predict; otherwise she would have been claimed for $50,000 rather than the well-beaten runnerup. Her dam was better on grass (albeit with a career-best 65 Beyer), as her half-sister Thundering Sky, but still….a 6 1/2-length score and new 39-point Beyer top is another example that none of us are as smart as we think we are.

2. DECISIVE WIN, SA, 5/22-4th, 1 mile (VIDEO)
Beyer Speed Figure-90
(c, 3, by Nyquist–Weekend Away, by Malibu Moon)
O-Great Friends Stables and Mark Davis. B-RTA Family Trust and George E. Saufley (Ky). T-Doug O’Neill. J-Antonio Fresu.
If a fourth-place debut effort should ever be taken with a heaping grain of salt, this was it. Decisive Win was beaten seven lengths at Santa Anita March 7, but the 1-2 finishers were future Pat Day Mile (Gr. II) winner Crude Velocity, unbeaten in three starts and perhaps Bob Baffert’s best 3-year-old; and Civil Liberty, the stablemate of Decisive Win who was already Gr. I placed then broke his maiden at Keeneland with a 98 Beyer. No wonder Decisive Win was 1-to-2 on the board and cruised by 5 1/2 lengths. His name is absent from the colt’s past performances, but Will Farish’s impact on the $600,000 2-year-old purchase is huge: unraced dam Weekend Away is a half-sister to Private Mission as well as the dam of Dunbar Road, and second dam Private Gift is a half-sister to Kentucky Oaks winner Secret Status.

1. IN SCOPE, CD, 5/22-7th, 1 mile (VIDEO)
Beyer Speed Figure-90
(f, 3, by Gun Runner–Brielle’s Appeal, by English Channel)
O-G. Watts Humphrey Jr. B-Dixiana Farms (Ky). T-Rusty Arnold. J-Axel Concepcion.
Keen students of the sport were watching her performance Friday for another referendum on Mashallah, who beat her by 6 3/4 lengths at Keeneland en route to a stratospheric 106 debut Beyer. And the well-bred In Scope’s 3 1/2-length triumph and paired-up but conservative 90 Beyer is more evidence that Mashallah’s figure was legit. Furthermore, two days later Immortalize returned from a fourth in the same April 23 race (five lengths behind In Scope) to beat open maidens, also at Churchill Downs.

The post Five Fastest Maidens: May 18-25 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.