Good morning, and thank you for joining us. I would prefer to be with all of you in Saratoga, but I think we will be able to provide an interesting and important program for you this morning.

Racing is at a crossroads. We continue to survive the pandemic. We took advantage of our ability to present our sport to the world while others couldn’t. Our handle in 2020 equaled 2019 and is up in 2021.

We are at a crossroads because in December of 2020 the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act was signed into law. I thank so many of you who were crucial support in passing this legislation, and I commit to you that The Jockey Club will do all we can to ensure successful implementation.

And, now, to those who opposed HISA, you should know that racing will never be what was in the past. There is no going back.

The very unfortunate events surrounding the Derby illustrated how inadequate the existing system is. We saw how the crazy patchwork of different regulatory regimes only confuse the general public and dismay our strongest supporters. We will not survive if the public does not have confidence in our integrity and in our dedication to the welfare and safety of our athletes.

Not everything has gone perfectly over the past year, and we have many areas that still need improvement. But our sport and its employees, from the backstretch to the executive offices, should be proud of our achievements.

Today’s Round Table Conference touches on some of those achievements, and it highlights some of the areas in which we need to improve and how we can improve.

I’d like to thank NYRA and the Racetrack Television Network for streaming the conference on their respective platforms.

As is tradition, we will start with The Jockey Club president, Jim Gagliano, discussing the activities of The Jockey Club and its family of companies and how they have remained steadfast in our mission to improve Thoroughbred breeding and racing.