The Jockey Club Chair Everett Dobson addressed both positive trends and ongoing challenges facing horse racing during his keynote speech at the Round Table Conference on Matters Pertaining to Racing Thursday in Saratoga Springs.
“Racing has never been safer for our horses and jockeys,” Dobson said. “The Jockey Club will continue to strongly support HISA, and we need look no further than the news we all read this week from Thistledown, where concerns about safety prompted HISA to decisively step in.”
Safety statistics support Dobson’s assessment. When The Jockey Club first began tracking equine fatalities through its Equine Injury Database in 2009, the rate was 2.0 deaths per 1,000 starters. That figure has dropped to 1.11 in 2024 — a 44.5% reduction.
Dobson, an owner and breeder, highlighted major capital projects at venues like Belmont Park and Pimlico, along with increased television coverage from Fox and NBC.
Social media influencer Griffin Johnson participated in a Q&A session discussing his experience as part-owner of Sandman (Tapit) through West Point Thoroughbreds. Johnson detailed plans to leverage his 14 million social media followers to promote racing beyond his own horse.
“I want to really educate Gen Z about what else this sport has to offer,” Johnson said. “I’m going to go to the Keeneland sale and show them what goes into it. I’m going to go to the backstretch at another track. I’m going to show them what goes on at Del Mar. You have to keep doing that over and over and over again. It’s not a one-year plan, it’s not a two-year plan. In my head, this is a 10 to 20-year plan.”
Despite positive developments, Dobson expressed concern about two troubling trends: declining handle in 2023-2024 and the shrinking foal crop.
“It is perhaps the most concerning trend that affects the growth of our sport today,” he said regarding the foal crop decline. “If we are serious about growing this sport, reversing the decline in foal crops is essential.”
The reduction in foal numbers has coincided with the closure of several major tracks including Hollywood Park, Calder, Arlington, and Golden Gate Fields — with Gulfstream potentially joining that list.
“The Jockey Club remains concerned about the future of some of our most important racetracks, particularly in regions of the country that are deemed to be important to the overall health of the sport,” Dobson noted.
Addressing the contentious issue of Computer Assisted Wagering (CAW), Dobson pledged to facilitate industry dialogue: “I further recognize the deep divide on the matter of computer assisted wagering, or CAW, and plan to use my position to better understand the issue and try to help the industry strike the right balance that ensures growth, but does not disenfranchise the retail bettor. I look forward to my discussions with the interested parties and working towards practical solutions.”
Steve Kornacki, chief data analyst for NBC News and racing enthusiast, shared how his uncle introduced him to the sport at the now-closed Scarborough Downs harness track in Maine.
“When I think about it, there’s a lot of overlap between my interests in elections and my interest in horse racing,” Kornacki said. “In each case, there’s a tantalizing puzzle. Here’s a field of candidates or here’s a field of horses. How do they stack up against each other? What are the relevant variables? Who could win? Who should win? Who can’t win? Who might have a better chance than anyone seems to realize.”
Lobbyist Shawn Smeallie, founder of ACG Advocacy, discussed racing’s legislative victories in Washington and urged industry unity on HISA following recent legal developments.
“With the recent Supreme Court decision to not review HISA anytime soon, my hope is that HISA’s opponents will move on to other, more pressing matters,” he said. “Indeed, the continued and relentless litigation only contributes to one of the few legitimate concerns about HISA–its cost. My understanding that the legal bills are well into the millions. Let HISA be the law of our land, and our industry, and let’s work to make it the best it can be.”
John Stewart and Dr. Ryan Kelley from Fastbreak Pro presented models designed to prevent race overlaps across different tracks. Their research suggests implementing such systems could increase handle by $30 million annually.
The conference concluded with presentations from Dr. Allen Hershkowitz, Environmental Science Advisor for the New York Yankees, and Glen Kozak, Executive Vice President of Operations and Capital Projects at New York Racing Association. They presented data showing climate change’s impact on racing, with cancellations increasing from an average of 68.5 per year between 2015-2018 to 85.5 annually from 2021-2024. The 2023 season saw a record 103 cancellations.
