HISA Changes Retirement Rules‍

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority has announced that only the Designated Owner of a Covered Horse will have the ability to retire the horse in the HISA portal. Once you complete the retirement steps in the portal, the Covered Horse will officially be retired from Thoroughbred racing.

A horse that has been retired is no longer a Covered Horse for purposes of HISA’s rules. Only Covered Horses may participate in timed and reported workouts and races. Therefore, a Covered Horse should only be retired when it is your intent to permanently end a horse’s racing career.

Once retired, the process to restore the status of a Covered Horse takes approximately four months after the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit is notified of the intent to return the horse to participation, subject to Rule 3050(b) and additional HIWU requirements.

If you have sold your horse to a new Designated Owner, you should transfer ownership rather than retire the horse. For further information, an educational video is posted on the HISA website: https://hisausregs.org/reg-document-video/1071790140. You can also contact the 24/7 help desk at 1-877-513-2919.

Specific to Maryland, if you choose to retire you Covered Horse privately, the horse will no longer be eligible for the Beyond The Wire aftercare program.

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