#56 - The Rulebook, the Racetrack, and the Real Work with Lisa Lazarus, CEO of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority

Intro:

Lisa Lazarus is the CEO of the Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA). From NFL negotiations to equestrian rulebooks in Switzerland, Lisa’s career has taken her across sports, continents, and now into the heart of American horse racing reform.

We talk about what it means to rebuild trust in an industry that’s often under fire, how to change deeply embedded cultures without losing the soul of the sport, and what it actually takes to reduce fatalities by 37 percent in just three years.

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Key topics we discussed in 5 bullet points:

• Lisa’s winding career path from international sports law to leading HISA

• The real metrics behind reducing equine fatalities and why transparency matters

• The cultural shift underway in horse racing and why trust is the hardest part

• Balancing federal oversight with racetrack realities across the U.S.

• Why bringing younger generations into the sport is non-negotiable

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Follow Lisa and HISA updates on their website:

https://hisaus.org/