Another Week, Another Scandal: Jockey Club Member Marshall Gramm Accused of Accessing Private Vet Data For His Own Use In What Is A Terrible Look For Horse Racing

Sorry, Elio. I laughed. 

Another week, another scandal in horse racing. 

Last week, random horses with random trainers won at wild prices, with reports of overseas betting coups. The Fair Hill 5 became national headlines, with places like ESPN reporting on it. We still need more answers on that story. 

This week, a horse owner/contest player/college professor was reportedly accessing vet information for his own gain. 

Marshall Gramm is someone the industry has lifted up. He speaks on racing panels, gets TV time - he's seen as one of racing's "good guys." 

He was also the man allegedly behind this - horse racing past performances that include private vet information on horses.

I actually covered the story when it broke on America's favorite weekly horse racing blog, At The Post w/ Mut. 

We have a logo and everything, so you know it's good. 

Anyway, this vet info is private. Someone was getting access to it and using it as part of their handicapping process. That someone is allegedly Gramm. At least according to HISA - The Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Authority - a newer government organization. 

The investigations concluded that Mr. Gramm deliberately and methodically misappropriated confidential horse health information from the HISA Portal during a 6-week window beginning in early May and concluding in mid-June. Based on information gathered through the investigations, Mr. Gramm developed an automated method of obtaining the confidential horse health information at scale in a manner designed to mimic authorized activity to avoid detection by HISA’s security systems. Mr. Gramm used the resulting information to create the PPs that were shared on social media. Additionally, during this 6-week window, Mr. Gramm participated in handicapping contests, engaged in pari-mutuel wagering and claimed several Covered Horses across multiple jurisdictions and racetracks. HISA will be seeking restitution of any and all proceeds derived from such activities conducted during the relevant time period for the affected entities and individuals. 

I'm told by a good source that HISA has known for about a month that it was Gramm. They were working with him to figure out a punishment. That fell through, and news started to leak on social media Monday morning before HISA's press release. 

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Gramm acknowledged that in his own post.

The information at issue was available through my authorized HISA account. It was a large dataset, and at the time I accessed it, I had not fully reviewed its contents or understood the scope of the information it contained. I used my own account and credentials and never attempted to conceal my identity or circumvent HISA's security. 

Once logged into my account, I bypassed no security protocols or other safeguards to access the information. Where I exercised poor judgment was in not bringing the vulnerability to HISA's attention sooner after it became a public story. I should have done so, and I regret that I did not. I want to apologize for the difficulties this situation has caused. Horse racing has been an important part of my life for many years, and I care deeply about the integrity of the sport. 

I remain willing to work with HISA to address the access-control weaknesses that allowed this information to be available. Making me the focus of this matter is a distraction from the fundamental issues HISA needs to address with its systems. 

From his own words and HISA's statement, Gramm accessed vet info on horses that weren't his. HISA is using the word "hacked." Either way, rather than tell HISA they had a security issue or weakness, he used the info for himself to aid his handicapping with information other people didn't have access to. 

Which is a terrible look, considering Gramm is a member of The Jockey Club, a group of horse racing elites that "provides leadership and support across the industry." 

Giphy Images.

Handicappers are always looking for an edge, but this is such a bad look for the sport. Instead of helping the sport by closing an information loophole, he used the information for himself. And during this time, he was playing in handicapping tournaments against other players who didn't have this private information. 

Given that the info showed up on social media, how many other people did Gramm share it with who might have benefitted? 

Some other questions - from me. And some answers - also from me. 

Mut, shouldn't this vet info be available to everyone? 

Yep. In Japan, they offer this to players. Along with a daily log of what kind of training a horse does every day. But that doesn't change that what Gramm did was crappy. 

What does HISA actually do? 

I'm not sure. As a bettor, I can't think of anything in the sport that they have made better. Do they even know people are betting on the sport? 

Did this info help him? 

No clue, but the dude is an economics professor at Rhodes College. If it didn't help, he would not have been so sneaky. 

He Shared It With Friends, Right? 

I mean, someone leaked it on social, so other people knew. Gramm has a lot of friends in racing media. 

Seems like Gramm got greedy here? 

Uh, yeah. How about this note from Ed DeRosa's piece, on Gramm trying to "help" HISA when this story broke in June. 

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(Lisa) Lazarus (Head of HISA) said Gramm spoke at length about how the industry should respond to this while never acknowledging that he was the reason they were having the meeting in the first place. Hours later, Gramm admitted to a HISA investigator that he accessed the vet records.

"Gramm spent an hour on that call with us, contributing his ideas to where we go from here, without once acknowledging that he was actually the one that caused the fact that we had to talk about changes in policy," Lazarus said. "He knew; there's no question that he would know what he was doing was wrong, that it was unethical and that he was violating multiple rules."

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Crazy shit from Gramm here, who, full disclosure, I have always liked and admired for his approach to racing as an owner and a player. 

Did we win any big handicapping tournaments recently? 

He sure did! Well, he finished second in NYRA's big Belmont Stakes Day handicapping event - $37,000 in prize winnings plus a $10,000 Breeders' Cup Betting Challenge Seat. It took place during the six-week window Gramm had access to the vet records. I did not play in that, but if I did, I'd be pissed. 

Wait, you said he's an owner too? 

Yeah, Ten Strike Racing. Sharp outfit. They claimed horses during this period when he had vet access, too, according to HISA. Another terrible look. 

HISA Has Some Shitty Tech, Huh? 

Yep. Sounds like it was not hard for Gramm to get this access. You'd think with a $30 million tech budget, HISA would do better! CEO Lisa Lazarus takes some blame for this, 100%. It's a fucking mess, and she and they are a big part of it by not protecting their own database of information. 

What will the punishment be? 

Great question. If they gave him a lifetime ban, I'd understand. He embarrassed The Jockey Club and HISA. And the sport in general. Before today's news, I saw Gramm as a player advocate who wanted to make the game better for us. But this is a tough look. 

Bad day, sad day, to quote my coworker. Gramm has embarrassed the sport with this. And he could have been a hero if he uncovered a flaw in the tech and just helped HISA fix it. I wonder who else knew. 

Maybe that will be the next terrible headline we'll see in horse racing next week.