Economics professor faces lifetime ban over illegal horse health data access

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority announced that Marshall Gramm, an economics professor at Rhodes College in Tennessee, is facing a potential lifetime ban after being accused of improperly accessing confidential health records for thousands of racehorses. The agency claims Gramm obtained the data over a six-week span from May to June, employing an automated system to make his access appear legitimate, and then used the information to place pari-mutuel wagers and claim nine horses that earned his operation between $80,000 and $90,000.

Gramm has not admitted the conduct but maintains that he did not breach any rules, asserting his account was authorized and that his mistake lay in not reporting the vulnerability sooner. HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus said the organization will compensate the previous owners of the claimed horses and pursue restitution through the courts, while also notifying federal and local authorities. HISA counsel John Roach warned that the violation could result in a lifetime prohibition, and prominent owner Mike Repole criticized the incident as indicative of broader systemic issues in the sport.