HISA launches Equine Recovery Foundation to save injured Thoroughbreds

For a Thoroughbred with a condylar fracture or slab fracture, the race may be over, but the horse does not have to be. The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority’s new Equine Recovery Foundation was designed for that narrow, costly window when surgery and rehabilitation can save a horse, but the bill or the logistics might otherwise push an owner toward euthanasia.

Announced on Dec. 10, 2025, and set to begin operations in early 2026, HERF is an independent 501(c)(3) separate from HISA. Its mission is split in two: get qualifying injured racehorses immediate veterinary treatment and rehabilitation, and widen access to diagnostic imaging and other tools that can help prevent injuries in the first place.

Lisa Lazarus said the foundation is meant to fill the gap when surgical intervention is difficult for owners to pursue, and Joe De Francis, who serves as board chair, called it a logical extension of HISA’s work on equine health, safety and welfare. The first pilot is planned for the Mid-Atlantic, backed by an initial $100,000 donation from Joe De Francis and Katherine Wilkins De Francis.

HERF says it is built for quick trackside decisions, with eligibility reviewed by a three-person veterinary committee made up of a regulatory veterinarian, an attending veterinarian and a consulting surgeon. The foundation is focusing on injuries with strong recovery outcomes, especially fractures such as condylar and slab fractures, and it is lining up equine surgeons, transport providers and veterinary hospitals so horses can move from the racetrack into treatment without losing precious time.

The practical gap HERF is trying to fill is easy to see in the numbers already attached to aftercare. The Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance says it has 86 accredited organizations operating 175 facilities across North America, and since 2012 it has awarded more than $40.74 million in grants and helped more than 20,000 Thoroughbreds find new homes or careers. HERF is not a replacement for that network. It is the bridge before it, for horses that are medically salvageable but not yet ready for retirement placement.

That distinction matters because the sport’s credibility is increasingly measured by what happens after the crowd leaves. HISA said tracks operating under its rules recorded 1.04 racing-related equine fatalities per 1,000 starts in 2025, nearly a 50% drop since national reporting began in 2009. HERF will not touch every bad step or every catastrophic injury, but it gives racing a more concrete answer when a horse is injured, treatable and still has a future.