TRENTON – Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin today announced the retirement of Judith A. Nason from the New Jersey Racing Commission (NJRC). As Executive Director, Nason played a critical leadership role in effectuating the NJRC’s core mission to ensure the safety and integrity of the horse racing industry in New Jersey.

“Judy Nason has been an exemplary public servant for over three decades, and an exceptional leader of the Racing Commission since 2018,” said Attorney General Platkin. “Her career has been guided by integrity, professionalism, and a genuine care of the horses, jockeys, and racing participants that make up the horse racing industry in New Jersey. While I will miss her guidance and expertise, I wish her the happiest of retirements. In light of her departure, I would like to thank Assistant Director Tom Salerno for assuming an interim leadership role during this transition period.”

“It has been an honor working for the State of New Jersey and overseeing the thrill and excitement of thoroughbred and standardbred racing,” said Executive Director Nason. “NJRC employees are the best at what they do, and I am pleased that over the years we have improved the conditions for horses and instituted other enhancements to ensure the integrity of the sport.”

The NJRC is a nine-member bipartisan body appointed by the Governor and is staffed by a team of career employees, including investigators to oversee racing, training, and stabling; licensing staff to handle licensing and fingerprinting; financial staff to oversee and monitor pari-mutuel wagering; veterinarians to examine the horses before each race; and the officials who oversee standardbred and thoroughbred races, known as “judges” and “stewards.”

Under Nason’s leadership, NJRC took several steps to enhance safety in the sport of horse racing. Through her efforts, New Jersey became the first state in the nation to prohibit the whipping of a thoroughbred by a riding crop by any New Jersey jockey or exercise rider except for the express purpose of ensuring the immediate safety of the horse or rider. Nason also oversaw the adoption of an amendment to NJRC’s regulations that restricts the use of the whip in harness racing to wrist action only.

Nason also directed NJRC’s effort to adopt enhanced reporting requirements related to equine fatalities. The enhanced rules require trainers to submit an Equine Fatality Report within 48 hours after the death of a horse on any part of the grounds of a New Jersey racetrack or off-track training facility. They also require a post-mortem necropsy to be conducted at a facility designated by the NJRC, and they require the attending veterinarian to submit treatment records for a 30-day period preceding the horse’s death. The enhanced requirements have ensured that NJRC has access to the data it needs to analyze causes of death, identify trends or areas of concern, and prevent at-risk horses from racing in the future.

In another area of focus on the health and safety of racing participants, Nason spearheaded the adoption of a regulation that allows for the postponement or cancelation of racing for any reason determined to pose a serious risk to the health, safety, and welfare of the race participants, including, but not limited to, extreme weather conditions like high heat and humidity. And under Nason’s leadership, NJRC oversaw the orderly closure and then re-opening of state racetracks during the COVID-19 pandemic.

After the federal Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act was passed in 2020, Nason managed its implementation in New Jersey. Under Nason’s leadership, NJRC entered a services agreement with the newly-established Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA), where NJRC agreed to provide the services of its stewards and veterinarians to enforce HISA’s racetrack safety rules and perform certain related duties. The agreement allowed thoroughbred racing to continue without interruption after the federal law’s July 1, 2022 effective date.

Executive Director Nason joined the Division of Law in the Department of Law and Public Safety in January 1993 as a Deputy Attorney General, where she represented and provided legal advice to NJRC for 13 years. In November 2014, she became Deputy Director of the Commission, and in July 2018, she became Acting Executive Director of the Commission. On May 15, 2019, the NJRC appointed her as Executive Director.

Assistant Director Thomas Salerno joined NJRC in May 2013 initially as a judge at Freehold Raceway and later as an Associate Judge and Presiding Judge. He is also the NJRC’s Supervisor of Racing Officials. Prior to serving as Assistant Director, Salerno served as Presiding Judge at the Meadowlands Racetrack. Salerno previously worked as a judge for the Delaware Harness Racing Commission and the Pennsylvania Harness Racing Commission. Salerno will assume the role of Interim Director pending the appointment of an Executive Director by the NJRC Commissioners.

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