The National Thoroughbred Racing Association Safety and Integrity Alliance received a positive review from its independent monitor Dec. 8 but was also told it has a lot of work to do in terms of educating the public and getting racetracks to buy into the alliance accreditation process.

The biggest accomplishment, perhaps, is the fact the alliance is intact and moving forward into its second year when other industry initiatives have fallen by the wayside quickly.

"I think the fact the program started last April and has 12 or 13 tracks accredited is a major accomplishment," NTRA board member Satish Sanan said. "In this industry, to get an initiative started and have half the success is very difficult. If (the alliance) had more resources, I think it could be a lot more successful."

The NTRA board of directors met Dec. 8 in Tucson, Ariz., and voted to continue funding the alliance. The board, as expected, approved a 2010 budget of $10 million that's 25% less than this year's spending plan

Create a free account with TheHorse.com to view this content.

TheHorse.com is home to thousands of free articles about horse health care. In order to access some of our exclusive free content, you must be signed into TheHorse.com.

Start your free account today!

Already have an account?
and continue reading.