Dollars & Sense: Integrity Critical for Racing's Future

The keynote speaker at this year's International Conference of Horseracing Authorities Oct. 7 in Paris, Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board director Frank Clarke, noted that to secure its future, racing needs thorough oversight that ensures integrity as the sport works to maintain public confidence. And, while he was not specifically addressing issues in the United States, Clarke outlined three needed pillars for such oversight. They are much more in line with the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority that currently oversees the majority of U.S. racing than the state-to-state approach that continues in a few jurisdictions and had been the standard for decades. Clarke, a former chief justice in Ireland, said racing needs rules that are up to date with the times, processes that effectively put the rules into effect, and independent regulators that can stand up to pressure. In terms of the rules, Clarke noted they need to be reviewed regularly with an eye toward any potential loopholes or unclear meanings. In terms of processes, he noted the importance of not just effective testing but of regulators having access to betting pools and expertise in what those patterns can mean in terms of possible cheating. And, he said that both investigators and regulatory decision-makers need to be independent of the sport. In outlining the need for oversight that incorporates this approach, Clarke said the sport's standing with the general public is on the line. He noted that while a small group of people will always oppose racing and a small group within the sport will always support it, a vast majority of people—both in and out of racing—currently are in the middle but generally tipped toward supporting racing. He said to continue that leaning, racing needs to welcome top efforts to ensure integrity so that the majority is confident that horses and participants are protected. The stakes are high. Clarke noted that the sport has become increasingly reliant on government support and that support always has the potential to change based on public backing. "We are all, to a greater or lesser extent, dependent on the view government takes of us. In some cases, it is a significant funding feature, whether betting, fund-raising, or levies on racing or grants from government," Clarke said. "And at a more extreme level, measures adopted to control gambling can affect racing. And at the very extreme, there can be moves from some quarters to suggest that racing should be significantly curtailed or even abandoned. "So maintaining an appropriate relationship with government seems to me to be vital to the continuance of the sport." Beyond that, Clarke noted that negative impacts to racing's integrity can reduce the number of active owners who may wonder why they're spending money on a sport that is not viewed favorably. He said without that public confidence, a new generation of fans would look elsewhere. "Who wants to be an owner and spend a lot of money owning racehorses, if it's not regarded as a respectable activity?" Clarke said. "The new generation of people who may be attracted to the sport will not be attracted if they regard it as not being a respectable activity. So integrity, I think, is integral to everything we do. The future of the sport is vitally dependent on that center ground of the public remaining supportive of racing." Clarke noted some important progress that's been made, including the IFHA's unveiling this month of a Racing Integrity Handbook, which provides clear guidelines on key areas such as governance, stewarding, prohibited substances, and anti-corruption efforts. He said it's important for racing to let the public know of this progress as their feelings about the sport are critical. "We haven't always been good at selling what we're doing," Clarke said. While the speech did not specifically involve U.S. issues, it certainly resonates that HISA is a system that regularly reviews and updates rules that then become consistent standards throughout the country as opposed to a state-to-state system with inconsistent evaluations from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and any changes often bringing non-uniformity. HISA has brought new investigative power with staff capable of going well beyond post-race testing and tying together different pieces of evidence. States had varying degrees of expertise when it came to oversight of the pools and what that might mean relative to doping. And HISA requirements ensure that investigators and decision-makers are not financially tied to the sport, compared to the state system where active participants often served on commissions. Clarke said putting these pillars in place will give the public confidence that racing is ensuring the integrity of the sport. "It's a constant battle between those who seek to prevent and those who seek to exploit," Clarke said. "We need to be constantly vigilant, and the rules need to be kept up to date. Rules that worked 10 years ago may not work in the current context, because you may need to present evidence that your rulebooks call into question. And then finally, there is the issue of the personnel, as it were, on the independence of the personnel, both those who are involved in the investigation and those who are involved in decision-making as a result of the investigation. "If you put all those together, if you have up-to-date rules, if you have appropriate processes, and if you have people applying those processes, whether in investigation or in decision-making, that are independent, then I think you have a very good base for an effective integrity system, but more importantly, one which will be recognized as such in the outside world."