Churchill Downs has formally written to the US Federal Trade Commission demanding an independent review of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, known as HISA.
The letter, dated 28 August and signed by chief executive William Carstanjen, was addressed to FTC chairman Andrew Ferguson and commissioner Mark Meador.
Churchill Downs owns Churchill Downs Racetrack, the celebrated home of the Kentucky Derby, as well as the wagering platform TwinSpires.
The company pointed to two specific controversies it argued had seriously damaged confidence in the sport and raised questions about HISA’s governance and transparency.
The first involved an extraordinary run of results and unusual wagering activity linked to horses connected to Fair Hill Training Center, a matter now referred to widely as the “Fair Hill Five.”
The second centred on alleged unauthorised access to confidential horse health records through the HISA Portal, over which HISA has charged Marshall Gramm with multiple rule violations, including fraud.
Carstanjen said in the letter: “HISA’s legitimacy depends on confidence that it is transparent, accountable, technologically competent, and subject to meaningful oversight.”
He further stated: “The recent controversies have further damaged that confidence,” making clear Churchill Downs viewed the situation as a structural problem requiring external scrutiny.
On the Fair Hill Five matter, HISA reportedly disclosed that a trainer connected to the case had tested positive for a banned substance more than a month before the information became public.
The delayed disclosure only came to light after the betting episode had already become a matter of widespread concern across the Thoroughbred racing industry.
Regarding the portal access issue, Churchill Downs was careful not to rush to judgment, stating: “We do not seek to excuse, minimise, or prejudge any alleged misconduct by Mr. Gramm or anyone else.”
The letter added: “If an individual knowingly accessed and used confidential information for an improper purpose, that conduct should be investigated and addressed through appropriate procedures.”
HISA chief executive Lisa Lazarus initially denied that the portal was the source of the leaked material, drawing on a 15 June article in Thoroughbred Daily News where she said: “Most importantly, the screenshots of [past performances] circulating online could not have come from the HISA Portal … this information did not come from HISA.”
HISA subsequently confirmed the data had in fact originated from its portal, a reversal that Churchill Downs highlighted prominently in its letter to the FTC.
Churchill Downs argued that HISA’s response had focused on characterising Gramm’s conduct as fraud without adequately explaining how its systems permitted the access in the first place.
The letter also questioned how long the vulnerability had existed and whether other users had accessed similar confidential information through the same portal.
HISA is funded through mandatory assessments on racetracks that are ultimately borne by the broader Thoroughbred industry, with total costs now exceeding $250 million, roughly 12% of which has been spent on technology.
Carstanjen closed by stating: “We stand ready to cooperate with the Commission and to support a credible review process that provides the industry, the wagering public, and all racing stakeholders with the answers they deserve.”
