Dr. Jennifer Durenberger has labored within the Thoroughbred racing trade for over 30 years in what she calls the “4 corners” of the game.
Particularly, that is New York, Minnesota, Louisiana and California.
After beginning as a pattern collector Canterbury Park As a young person his profession took off and he labored as a regulatory veterinarian in New York and California and as a housekeeper at New York Racing Affiliation tracks. Delta Downsand Canterbury.
And like everybody else within the trade who has labored across the nation, he needed to study a brand new algorithm and requirements every time he rooted and moved to a distinct state.
“I’ve seen firsthand the vary of guidelines that apply in several jurisdictions,” he mentioned.
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All this, Dr. He explains why Durenberger jumped on a springboard late final 12 months on the alternative to turn into director of equine security and welfare on the Horse Racing Integrity and Security Authority. After years of frustration coping with quite a lot of completely different guidelines in several jurisdictions, it now performs a number one position in HISA’s mandate to set requirements that transcend state strains and are honored from coast to coast.
“Being a part of a gaggle that units nationwide requirements was one thing that excited me,” mentioned the 51-year-old Minnesota native.
Dr. Durenberger is only one of numerous individuals leaving main trade jobs to take part in HISA, which was licensed by america Congress in 2020 to implement nationwide integrity and security requirements. Launched on July 1, 2022, HISA gathered security and welfare laws underneath one roof, and on March 27, HISA’s Anti-Doping and Drug Management Program will place drug tips and testing underneath the identical sort of nationwide requirements.
Leaving his job as an officer on NYRA tracks, Dr. “I see my position as serving to help HISA’s mission, which is to make racing safer for our equine athletes and the individuals who work with them, together with jockeys,” Durenberger mentioned. Be a part of HISA on November twenty eighth. “What I do is advise on coverage points and help our security committee with rule revisions and critiques. I liaise with regulatory and specialist veterinarians who present healthcare nationwide.”
Confronted with the colossal activity of working with trade stakeholders to grasp and undertake new units of laws, Dr. Durenberger’s program was crammed with nonstop conferences and discussions with individuals from all ranges of the trade to get suggestions on the primary steps of HISA. steps within the first 9 months.
“We’re by no means bored,” mentioned the Saratoga Springs, NY resident, who earned a veterinary diploma from Cornell College and a legislation diploma from Western State College. “HISA remains to be enhancing most of its processes and know-how on the veterinary reporting facet to make issues extra environment friendly and extra environment friendly. We now have some economies of scale as we presently function nationwide and never in a single state. We get suggestions from individuals and we put that into HISA. We’re bringing it again to the assorted committees and management.”
For Lisa Lazarus, CEO of HISA, Dr. Durenberger was the suitable individual to tackle the necessary job of working with a number of trade figures throughout an important transition interval that additionally served as a studying curve.
“As director of equine security and welfare, Dr. Durenberger was instrumental in implementing HISA’s Racecourse Security Program, guiding our equine-centric method to equine security, and guaranteeing continued collaboration with veterinarians throughout the nation,” Lazarus mentioned. “Since becoming a member of us final November, Dr. Durenberger has been working exhausting to make sure that veterinarians perceive the HISA guidelines and are properly geared up to adjust to the Racecourse Security Program to assist defend the well being and security of equine athletes. the suitable veterinarian to guide the enterprise.”
Regardless of HISA encountering some resistance and authorized challenges, Dr. Durenberger says it has seen some vital adjustments in a brief time frame as some jurisdictions grapple with new guidelines in areas comparable to racetrack accreditation; safety necessities; racehorse inspections; monitoring and upkeep of racing surfaces; declare guidelines; veterinary data and veterinary lists; crop use; and security and well being necessities for jockeys.
“I’ve seen some notable adjustments and larger safety for equine athletes wherever they’re. HISA guidelines now comply with the horse wherever it goes, so it is a set of horse-centric guidelines our trade has by no means seen earlier than,” Dr. mentioned Durenberger. “We have launched some states with completely different guidelines in keeping with issues just like the uniform ready occasions for horses on the vet record since July 1, the veterinary opt-out procedures, and the invalid declare rule in my view. It is one of many largest recreation adjustments lately.”
After all, lower than a 12 months in the past at HISA, Dr. The workload of Durenberger and everybody else concerned in safety and well-being won’t ever be simple as they try to convey a fragmented trade collectively for a standard trigger.
“The place we need to be just a few months from now’s to have an trade that’s actually happy with the course it has taken collectively. It isn’t simply HISA doing one thing. It is all stakeholders coming collectively and actually making progress. It is a step ahead to make this trade sustainable. ” mentioned. “We wish to have the ability to say that individuals are beginning to see, really feel and recognize the adjustments and are very, very comfortable that they’ve determined to help HISA. My hope is that we will work collectively to make the trade higher. It is all for us.”
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