EP 14: Racing to Evolve a Sport - Lunch with Lindsay and Lisa Lazarus
from the cutting room floor:
This episode was probably one of the more informational. I love horseracing. It is a nostalgic thing for me because of my father’s involvement as a sports journalist but I truly love being around the horses, the barns, the races. I, also, as a journalist, want to understand how the sport is trying to evolve because I believe it has to to succeed and carry on. At a time when there are so many questions around horse health and safety, I value transparency. In the NFL, when there is a perceived issue or injustice, the league addresses it. In many ways, this feels like that time in the sport of horseracing. I was grateful for this opportunity to go into the city and sit with Lisa Lazarus, the CEO of HISA – the governing body formed to promote safety and regulations in the sport. Lisa’s background in the NFL and how that plays into her current job is intriguing to me and it matters. I hope people can watch and listen to this episode with an open mind. It’s a rare thing that you get to witness a sport actively working to change and if horseracing is going to make strides to move forward in a way that carries it’s fanbase and creates new fans, Lisa is going to be instrumental in making that happen.
Podcast show notes:
In this episode Lindsay sits down with Lisa Lazarus, CEO of HISA - (Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority) the governing body created to help regulate the sport of horse racing through its racetrack safety and anti doping programs. Lisa, who spent years as in house legal council at the NFL shares about her role leading the charge to reduce the number of injuries and deaths around the sport. She opens up about navigating the challenges that come with trying to implement change in the tight knit, historically traditional thoroughbred racing community and how the loss of her mother at a young age shaped her as a woman and as a leader.
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