Ray Paulick, Author at Horse Racing News | Paulick Report

‘Seismic Change’ Ahead As HISA Set To Roll Out Medication Control Program March 27

When the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority’s Anti-Doping and Medication Control program goes into effect as anticipated on March 27, testing will be conducted at one of six laboratories that are currently accredited by the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium, HISA chief executive officer Lisa Lazarus said on Thursday. Speaking during a media conference call, […]

View From The Eighth Pole: Landry’s Take On Louisiana Racing Is Laugh Out Loud Funny

On a day that the National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association was distributing a commentary from Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry urging Thoroughbred owners and trainers to fight the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, we learned of a jaw-dropping stewards ruling from Delta Downs racetrack in Landry’s home state. “Louisiana horse racing has effectively policed […]

Veterinarian Robinson Gets Probation, Fine In 2017 Texas Quarter Horse Doping Case

Veterinarian Justin Robinson, criminally charged in 2017 with multiple counts of illegally influencing the outcome of a horse race, was given a $500 fine and probation in a deferred adjudication agreement approved in Bexar County District Court in  San Antonio, Texas, Feb. 28. Robinson was named as the attending veterinarian in connection with a series […]

Assistant Trainer Named In Delta Downs Barn Search Was Under ‘Indefinite’ Suspension In Pennsylvania

Assistant trainer James Anthony Tracy, named in a stewards ruling as the occupant of an allegedly contraband-filled Delta Downs tack room assigned to his brother, trainer Gregory John Tracy, was licensed by the Louisiana State Racing Commission while under suspension in Pennsylvania, according to the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission. Both men were suspended six months […]

Leading Owner Paolucci Faces Jail Time After Pleading Guilty To Tax Fraud

Ronald J. Paolucci, whose Loooch Racing Stables was a perennial leader at Ohio racetracks and ranked second nationally by wins in 2017 and 2018, is awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty in federal court to conspiring to defraud the federal government and filing a false tax return. Paolucci, of Frisco, Texas, faces up to eight years […]

‘We Owe An Apology To The Racing Public’: Sunland Park Stewards Admit DQ Error

The board of stewards at Sunland Park in New Mexico mistakenly disqualified a Quarter Horse from second to fourth place on March 3, and the executive director of the state racing commission has issued an apology to horseplayers who may have lost money as a result of the error. Raul Saucedo’s A Separate Star, breaking […]

Sixth Circuit Court Of Appeals Finds HISA Constitutional

A unanimous opinion by a three-judge panel at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Cincinnati, Ohio, found the amended version of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act constitutional. The March 3 ruling, written by Jeffrey S. Sutton, the Sixth Circuit’s chief judge, is in contrast to a November 2022 opinion from […]

Two Riders Injured, Two Horses Die In Turf Paradise Race

The final race of the day at Turf Paradise in Phoenix, Ariz., was cancelled on Wednesday after an incident in the seventh race that left two horses dead and two jockeys injured. Mystical Image, with Leslie Mawing aboard, suffered a catastrophic injury and fell near the quarter pole, according to the Equibase chart. Starzan, with […]

HISA, HIWU Preparing For March 27 Launch Of Anti-Doping And Medication Control Program

Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority CEO Lisa Lazarus said the organization is on a one-month countdown to an anticipated March 27 launch, in conjunction with the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit, of HISA’s Anti-Doping and Medication Control program. “We’re particularly excited and enthusiastic about the launch of the ADMC program  because we believe it’s something […]

Umberto Rispoli Hires Matt Nakatani As Agent, Effective March 9

Southern California-based jockey Umberto Rispoli has hired Matt Nakatani as agent, effective March 9, Nakatani said via text message on Friday. “I’m extremely excited to represent a world-class jockey in Umberto Rispoli. He is a true professional on and off the racetrack,” said Nakatani, son of jockey Corey Nakatani, who won 3,909 races, including 119 […]