Three Cheers (Well, Maybe One Cheer) For HISA

If you ask someone's opinion on HISA, it's either gonna be good (rare), bad (sometimes) or ugly (most of the time). I generally like to look at things like this on a case by case basis, and in one aspect, I can clearly say I think it's good. 

That aspect is increased oversight. 

Yesterday at Monmouth a horse who appeared lame was scratched, as the even money favorite, with a couple of minutes to post. This has been nothing that new the last few years certainly, but I think we forget sometimes how it used to be. 

When I was playing races on Betfair - where you could both back or lay horses - keeping tabs on how a horse looked (especially if it was a short price) was something to pay attention to. And there were several folks doing just that. 

One gentleman from the UK that I ran across in my travels only layed horses at the exchange, and it was almost solely based on their looks. He had a very sharp eye, growing up with horses, and it's all he did to make his living. He played mostly UK racing, but pivoted to "cowboy racing" as he called it, when the exchange carried massive numbers of North American racetracks. 

I'd get a call or email from time to time asking if I saw the six, and if not I should pitch him in the supers. He was usually right. 

One day for a Grade I race I watched a filly in the walking ring who appeared to be walking a little short.  Not long after, the post parade pretty clearly showed that something was amiss - the horse looked pretty awful. If my memory serves me, she was 2-5 on the board, and I think 1.57 on the exchange. 

I put an offer to book the 1.57 and it went away, I moved it up a couple of times and got filled at I think an average of 1.66. It was one of my bigger lay bets ever. 

I got pinged on email from my UK friend. 

"I bought up to 1.8, that's all me," he typed. 

She actually ran credibly, coming across in 5th or 6th, and the crowd (again if memory serves) saw what most saw and she closed way up at 4-5. I think it may have been her last race. 

Fast forwarding - the game has changed. 

Despite costing the track megabucks, we see gate scratches (sometimes even two horses like yesterday's Monmouth 5th race, which followed a horrific breakdown on Saturday; sometimes in the Breeders Cup). And we see even money shots scratched in claimers. 

But it's more than top-line data, because that is muddied. 

The culture change, and through perhaps better diagnostic testing, we see many of these horses don't even enter the box. The Teardrop situation likely happens less and less. I suspect the I Want Revenge type scratches don't make it to Saturday morning to the same extent anymore. 

Even void claim rules have protected horses from those who may want to unload a lame one. 

There are several reasons for this change, but I think one of them, in 2025 is the presence of HISA. 

There's hierarchical oversight that this sport never had before. 

Trainers are more vigilant because the track vets are more vigilant. The track vets are more vigilant because the track execs are more vigilant. The track execs are more vigilant because the Commissions are more vigilant. 

And, from the top rope, they're more vigilant because HISA is watching all of them. 

For that - in this instance at least - I give HISA a cheer. I suspect the horses probably thank them, too. 

Have a nice Monday everyone. 

Should Racing's Television Coverage "Flip the Script"?

 I saw this post from NASCAR Buck Swope today. 

Horse racing could learn something here (but will not). The Amazon Prime race analysts and live coverage overall have energized the base by simply flipping the boogity boogity boogity “audience is braindead” script that the other networks have been dishing out for over a decade. https://t.co/xUxBhzxDBi

— Buck Swope (@ShotTakingTime) June 2, 2025

He's referring to the new NASCAR coverage on Prime, which apparently differs wildly from previous iterations of the coverage on Fox Sports and others. 

Although I take Bucky's word for it on almost everything, especially Kirkland brand drinking products, I did dive into the cockles of the twitter interweb in trust but verify mode. And I conclude the Swope is onto something. People are loving this non "dumbed down" coverage. 

Who knows if racing could benefit from such a shift. We've got our Alix Earles and the like, and it seems the sport is convinced this is how to present racing to the masses. And frankly, television ratings for the big races have been decent. 

But I think the NASCAR coverage on Prime tells us something. 

In 2025, covering events for the masses almost doesn't exist, because nowadays it doesn't need to exist.

I started recently going down a chess rabbit hole. I don't know much about chess, other than I know how to play it, but got hooked watching speed chess games on Youtube (and it appears I am not the only one; these things have millions and millions of views). I find them fascinating. 

What the coverage - if we want to call it that - doesn't do, is dumb things down. When they mention a "Sicilian defense" opener, I don't need to know what it means because I can google it. Ditto a hundred other things. I can learn on the fly (imagine how much better this gets with AI). 

If they're explaining handicapping on a Derby show and want to attract people to "google" something complex, I don't see that itch scratched very much. It feels rudimentary. 

Maybe it's just the way it is, and has to be; I'm not smart enough to know. But as the world grows more and more specialized; where people can find unique perspectives on virtually anything on Youtube or with AI; where analytics, high level gambling concepts and the like are more and more common; dumbing things down seems like an anachronism. 

Have a very nice Monday everyone.

A Message from Melissa Nolan's Husband Patrick, to Horse Racing Twitter Regarding Her Passing

With the heaviest heart I am reaching out to all who are saddened by the news of Melissa's recent passing. I've seen and heard the kindest words reflecting what Melissa never wanted to hide, that horse racing was the great passion of her life. She could pick winners with the best of you, but even a bad day at the windows never tempered her joy from being immersed in the spectacle and camaraderie of the track. For the past 21 years I was lucky enough to experience horse racing firsthand with one of the sport’s most loyal and ardent disciples, and through that entire time Melissa never lost her childlike wonderment for the beauty and grace of the equine athlete. Nothing was more exquisite to her than witnessing those majestic creatures flawlessly perform what they were born to do. 

All of us who love this sport long enough remember our bad beats as vividly as our triumphs, and experience tragic lows intertwined with those incredible highs. It becomes an integral part of our lives, and we accept the pain it can cause because we also witness breathtaking magic. Now that Melissa is gone, I worry I may never feel the same levels of agony and ecstasy. Her pure emotions contributed to my own, but I will never give up my love for this sport even if the sensations are less intense. I know that I will always be closest to her when I am at the track, among her racing family. 

Because she was so young, it is natural for people to have questions about her unexpected death. I don't have any explanation, and it's possible that the specific cause will never be known for sure. Melissa loved having a good time, but her father's passing in 2019 was difficult and she struggled with alcohol at times. We went through some rough patches this past winter, but I really believe that she was looking forward to her favorite time of the year as summer approached. Melissa could accomplish anything she put her mind to, and although she didn’t tell me what she was doing, my fear is that she too drastically stopped drinking. The autopsy revealed an enlarged heart, and with it a likelihood her body was not strong enough to handle the shock of withdrawal. It pains me to share this, in part because she concealed her problem well and would be devastated by its revelation, but also because I am ashamed that I let it happen even though I don’t know what I could have done differently. My sole motivation is the hope that it will encourage the idea that you don’t have to do something that hard on your own even if you know you can. 

I wish that it hadn’t taken so long for word of her passing to become known to all who knew her through racing. I lost my wife and partner, but as the touching words you have shared reveal, she meant a great deal to many of you. Please know that your interactions with Melissa, virtually and in person, added to the happiness racing brought her. Thank you for stimulating her insatiable desire to expand and share her knowledge of the sport. Please do what you can to continue her advocacy for what she held so dear.