LEXINGTON, Ky.—Official transcripts and a video replay from Sunday’s 69th annual Round Table Conference on Matters Pertaining to Racing are now available at jockeyclub.com. Sunday’s event was held virtually and streamed on jockeyclub.com.
The conference featured presentations by Charles Scheeler, chair of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority board of directors, and Dr. Tessa Muir, director of Equine Science for the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), who talked about the work ahead for the authority and USADA’s role in setting up an anti-doping program.
Emily Lyman, founder and chief executive officer of Branch & Bramble, a digital marketing agency retained by America’s Best Racing, discussed how tracking public sentiment through “social listening” should be used when developing marketing strategies for horse racing.
Will Duff Gordon, the chief executive officer of Total Performance Data (TPD), spoke alongside Will Bradley, director and founder of Gmax Technology Ltd., about how TPD and Gmax have collaborated to create timing systems for horse races and how they are working with Equibase to determine how the tracking data can supplement and enhance the information that Equibase provides.
Dr. Yuval Neria, professor of Medical Psychology at Columbia University and director of the PTSD Research Center, was joined by Dr. Prudence Fisher, associate professor of Clinical Psychiatric Social Work at Columbia University, to talk about the Man O’ War Project, which is the first university-led research study to examine the effectiveness of equine-assisted therapy in treating veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Kristin Werner, senior counsel for The Jockey Club and administrator of The Jockey Club’s Thoroughbred Incentive Program, moderated an aftercare panel with panelists Erin Crady, executive director, Thoroughbred Charities of America; Brian Sanfratello, executive secretary, Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association; Beverly Strauss, executive director, MidAtlantic Horse Rescue; and Dr. Emily Weiss, vice president, Equine Welfare, American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
David O’Rourke, the president and chief executive officer of the New York Racing Association, provided an update on that organization’s efforts to promote safety, integrity, and the sport of racing.
James L. Gagliano, president and chief operating officer of The Jockey Club, delivered a report on the activities of The Jockey Club.
Stuart S. Janney III, the chairman of The Jockey Club, presided over the conference and closed the event by addressing arguments made by groups in the racing industry that have stated their opposition to the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA). He reiterated the importance of the reform that HISA will bring to the Thoroughbred industry and that it will provide the tools necessary to effectively regulate the sport.
The Jockey Club Round Table Conference was first held on July 1, 1953, in The Jockey Club office in New York City. The following year, it was moved to Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
The Jockey Club Press Release
