Racing Regulators Convene in Indianapolis to Address AI, Integrity and Industry Survival

Lonny Powell has a message for horse racing, and he is not planning to soften it. The CEO of the Florida Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association and a past president of the Association of Racing Commissioners International will deliver the keynote address at the ARCI annual meeting in Indianapolis next week, framing his address as a blunt appraisal of what the sport must do to remain viable.

The conference runs April 8-10 and brings together regulators from the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean for what organizers have positioned as one of the most consequential regulatory gatherings in recent memory. The affiliated Sports Betting Regulators Association conference runs concurrently, creating two distinct tracks: one focused on horseracing integrity and welfare, the other on sports wagering and consumer protections.

Lisa Lazarus, CEO of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA), will address the conference on HISA's investments in tools designed to identify at-risk horses before a problem becomes a tragedy. Central to that work is artificial intelligence: biometric monitoring, video analytics, and new data streams that regulators are already using operationally to flag horses for additional testing or veterinary review. This is not a pilot program or a theoretical agenda item; it is shaping daily decisions across jurisdictions right now.

The wagering track carries its own urgency. With courts and federal agencies holding the power to reshape consumer protections at any moment, the conference will address cross-border coordination as betting products and delivery mechanisms continue to evolve. The geographic breadth of the attendance reflects what is at stake: decisions made in Indianapolis could ripple into licensing frameworks, model rules, and anti-doping protocols across North America and the Caribbean.

The meeting arrives during a period of heightened scrutiny of integrity frameworks, with implications stretching from aftercare funding and necropsy practices to how racetracks and off-track wagering providers operate in an environment where transparency is increasingly a regulatory demand rather than a courtesy.

Powell's keynote sets the tone. Whether the conference produces binding policy or only model-rule proposals, the conversations beginning April 8 will define the terms of debate for the months ahead.