🏛️Official — HISA
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Equestrian
1–2 players
outdoor
horse, saddle, bridle
10 essential rules
Thoroughbred racing in the United States is governed at the national level by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA), a private, independent, self-regulatory organization created by the federal Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act of 2020. HISA develops and enforces a uniform set o...
HISA rules govern every licensed participant connected to a covered horse. The principal participants are: Jockey: The licensed rider. Jockeys ride at an assigned weight, must be licensed by the relevant state commission and registered with HISA, and are subject to HISA's riding, crop, and safety...
When two or more horses cannot be separated at the wire, the race is declared a dead heat and the tied horses share the placing. Purse money and any applicable awards for the tied positions are combined and divided equally among the dead-heated horses.
A Thoroughbred race has no points — the result is simply the order in which the horses' noses reach the finish wire. The placing judges, assisted by the photo-finish camera, record the order of finish from first through last.
Furlongs: Race distances are measured in furlongs; one furlong equals one-eighth of a mile (220 yards / about 201 meters). Sprints are typically 4½ to 7 furlongs; routes are a mile or longer.; Distance poles: Colored poles around the track mark the distance remaining to the finish (for example, t...
Entries: Trainers enter eligible horses by the entry deadline. If a race draws more entries than the field limit, an "also-eligible" list is created.; Post-position draw: Post positions are drawn at random in the presence of officials, fixing each horse's starting stall.; Scratches: A horse may b...
Foal registration: Every Thoroughbred is registered at birth with The Jockey Club, which maintains the breed registry and assigns the horse's registered name and pedigree.; Microchip: Horses are implanted with a microchip that is scanned to confirm identity in the paddock and at sample collection...
Mandatory reporting: Racetracks must report racing and training injuries and fatalities to HISA.; Necropsy program: Fatalities are subject to necropsy examination so that contributing factors can be studied.; Equine Injury Database: Aggregated injury data is used to track trends and target safety...
Stewards' inquiry: The stewards may, on their own initiative, review the running of a race for possible interference before declaring it official.; Jockey's objection: A rider (or owner/trainer) may lodge an objection alleging interference; the stewards review the patrol films and testimony.; Dis...
Mandatory approved helmets and safety vests in racing and training, with damaged equipment removed from service.; On-site medical staff and ambulance coverage are required during racing.; Gate-approval requirements ensure horses break safely, and outriders are positioned to catch loose horses and...
Under the HISA Racetrack Safety Program, every rider — in races and during training — must wear approved protective equipment that meets recognized safety standards:
The Jockeys' Room Code of Silence
What is said in the jockeys' room stays there. Riders do not share fellow jockeys' comments, race-riding discussions, or locker-room conversations with owners, trainers, media, or bettors. Breaching this code is one of the most serious social violations in the sport and produces lasting mistrust among peers that formal discipline cannot repair.
Observed at professional tracks globally; particularly strong in North American and British racing culture. Predates modern regulation and is enforced entirely by community sanction.
Never 'Stiff' a Horse
The cultural stigma against deliberately not trying with a horse—known as 'stiffing' or 'stopping'—far exceeds the formal regulatory penalty. Jockeys or trainers known within the industry to have stopped horses face near-universal professional ostracism from owners and connections, effectively ending careers through informal community consensus even without an official ban.
The informal code is enforced by the community independent of stewards. Documented heavily through race-fixing investigations across North American and British racing since the 1970s.
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