Monmouth accredited by Safety and Integrity Alliance

The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) announced Tuesday that

Monmouth Park in Oceanport, New Jersey, has been fully accredited by the NTRA

Safety and Integrity Alliance following a complete review of all racing

operations at the facility. Monmouth Park is the sixth racing facility to be so

designated by the Alliance. Churchill Downs and Keeneland were accredited in

April; Belmont Park received accreditation in May; and Delaware Park and

Hollywood Park were accredited earlier this month. Pimlico Race Course was

granted provisional accreditation in May.

The accreditation of Monmouth Park was the culmination of a lengthy

certification process that began with the track's completion of a 48-page

written application and continued as Monmouth Park hosted several meetings with

Alliance officials. The on-site review included inspections of all facets of the

racing facility, and interviews with track executives, racetrack personnel,

jockeys, owners, trainers, stewards, regulators and fans. The inspection team

was comprised of Ronald Jensen DVM; racing official Richard Lewis; and Mike

Ziegler, executive director of the NTRA Safety and Integrity Alliance.

"Monmouth Park was reviewed on July 9-10 during its current meeting," Ziegler

said. "The inspection went very well, with Monmouth surpassing recommended

Alliance benchmarks in several areas and maintaining best practices in pre-race

veterinary inspections and the compilation and maintenance of jockey health

information."

"We're proud to have passed the NTRA's accreditation process," said Bob

Kulina, vice president and general manager of Monmouth Park. "In our long

history, we have always followed best practices for racing safety and integrity

for all human and equine athletes, and today's accreditation is a testament to

those practices."

The Alliance, formed last October with the goal of establishing national

uniform standards in the areas of safety and integrity, includes 55 racetracks

in North America and every major national horsemen's organization. Alliance

certification standards cover five broad areas: injury reporting and prevention;

creating a safer racing environment; aftercare and transition of retired

racehorses; uniform medication, testing and penalties; and safety research.

Within those five categories, specific standards focus on areas including:

The accreditation program initially will focus on human and equine safety,

but will be expanded to cover additional areas, including wagering security.

Arlington Park, Calder Race Course, Del Mar and Saratoga Race Course are

among the next racetracks that will undergo Alliance review.

The NTRA Safety and Integrity Alliance is a standing organization whose

purpose is to establish standards and practices to promote safety and integrity

in horseracing and to secure their implementation. Information on the Alliance,

including the Alliance Code of Standards, can be found at www.NTRAalliance.com.