Sunday, August 12, 2012

Round Table Conference Focuses On Horse Racing

{Saratoga Springs, New York}...Two social media games based on horse racing are to launch this week. During The Jockey Club's annual Round Table Conference in Saratoga Springs, New York Sunday, Travis T. Tygart, chief executive of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, said horse racing could learn from the Olympics how to put together a clean image. This year, the talk centered on drug policy and the shifting perceptions of medication use in horse racing. Tygart told attendees that uniform rules, drug testing and research, as well as intensive investigative and educational initiatives, have helped clean up the Olympic movement and could benefit racing, which is suffering from declining interest, although the sport's biggest days, such as the Kentucky Derby and the Breeders' Cup, draw bigger ratings and more betting than ever. Tygart said a win-at-all-costs culture has taken over the system, and, "if you stay stagnant, the cheaters will get ahead."