Ogden Mills Phipps: Complex issues such as medication and safety are not issues that can be addressed and resolved by one industry organization. They involve and affect many stakeholders. We have certainly seen some progress in these areas in the past few years. That progress has been achieved through collaboration on many fronts. The Jockey Club’s Thoroughbred Safety Committee works closely with a number of industry organizations and we’re going to hear today from them also. Stuart Janney, the chairman of the committee, will introduce several individuals who have been involved with various projects.

Stuart S. Janney III: Thank you, Dinny, and good morning, ladies and gentleman…

We often bemoan the lack of cooperation in our industry. In fact it’s a rare day when you don’t hear someone complain about the absence of cooperation and uniformity in medication rules, penalties, ADW signals, simulcast presentations, or race schedules.

Other professional sports like baseball, football, basketball and hockey have a league office and one set of rules for ALL participants. Why are there 34 regimes scattered across the country overseeing Thoroughbred racing?

Are we capable of moving forward and can we initiate change in a timely manner?

I submit that our collective actions in the safety, medication and integrity areas in the past two years show the way forward and suggest hope for our sport.

In the immediate aftermath of the Barbaro and Eight Belles tragedies, the eyes of the world were upon us…as they have been ever since.

As you know, members of Congress have expressed interest and concern. This spring, The Jockey Club, the NTRA, the RCI all received letters from Senator Udall of New Mexico and Representative Whitfield of Kentucky requesting a progress report on safety and medication reforms.

As we stated in The Jockey Club’s response, we believe that this industry has accomplished more in the last two years than in any other time in our history…and we are not done yet, as we would like to prove to you over the next hour.

The Thoroughbred Safety Committee was formed to review every facet of equine health and to recommend actions the industry could take to improve the health and safety of Thoroughbreds.

As we have all seen, there are many avenues for change: organizations like TOBA, through its Graded Stakes Committee, or the Breeders’ Cup have made changes in their rules and practices. There are model rules, there are house rules, and there is the NTRA Safety and Integrity Alliance and its accreditation program.

There is also another potential tool to effect change and that is the Interstate Racing Regulatory Compact, which you are going to hear about in the next few minutes.

As we have done at previous Round Table Conferences, we want to share with you some of what we’ve learned as we talked with industry stakeholders.