Churchill Downs Incorporated has asked the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to order an independent review of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, escalating scrutiny of the regulator days before HISA provisionally suspended trainer Angel Quiroz over a series of alleged medication and horse-welfare violations.

In an August 28 letter to FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson and Commissioner Mark Meador, Churchill Downs said a series of recent events had raised “significant questions about the governance, transparency, technology controls, and accountability” of HISA. The company asked the FTC, which oversees HISA, to require or initiate a formal independent review covering racing and wagering integrity, non-public information and the safeguarding of sensitive industry data.

The intervention follows controversy over the so-called “Fair Hill Five” betting episode and HISA’s handling of confidential veterinary information accessed through its online portal by horse racing data analyst and owner Marshall Gramm.

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