US professor and punter charged over unauthorised access to vet records
American racing analyst, owner and professor Marshall Gramm has been charged by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) over multiple rule violations following an investigation into the unauthorised access and dissemination of confidential horse health records.
The charges stem from a probe launched after past performance reports for the horses Deterministic and Griffin’s Wharf were posted on social media in June.
The reports contained confidential veterinary information that HISA said should have been accessible only to the horses’ connections and regulatory veterinarians.
According to HISA, an initial review found no evidence that the agency’s systems had been breached by an outside actor. The authority subsequently expanded its investigation to determine whether an individual with authorised access to the HISA Portal had improperly obtained and shared the information.
The inquiry included interviews conducted by HISA personnel and contractors, as well as an independent forensic cybersecurity review by Arete. HISA said both investigations concluded that Gramm was solely responsible for accessing confidential horse health information and producing reports for horses with which he had no legitimate connection.
“HISA’s investigations concluded that Mr. Gramm deliberately and methodically misappropriated confidential horse health information from the HISA Portal during a six-week window beginning in early May and concluding in mid-June,” the authority said in a statement.
HISA alleged that Gramm created an automated process to obtain confidential information at scale while mimicking authorised activity to avoid detection. The organization said the data was used to generate the reports later shared on social media.
The authority also alleged that, during the period in question, Gramm participated in handicapping contests, engaged in pari-mutuel wagering and claimed thoroughbreds at racetracks in multiple jurisdictions.
HISA said it will seek restitution of any proceeds derived from those activities during the relevant timeframe.
According to the statement, Gramm admitted he was the source of the reports involving Deterministic and Griffin’s Wharf when presented with the findings of the investigations.
“There must be significant consequences for individuals who violate the integrity of our rules and obtain and abuse confidential horse health information,” HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus said. “HISA will take every necessary step to fiercely protect the integrity of Thoroughbred racing and ensure that violators of our rules are punished appropriately.”
HISA added that it has implemented technology changes and increased resources to prevent similar unauthorized access incidents in the future.
Gramm issued a reply via social media saying he would defend the charges.
“HISA has unfortunately decided to pursue disciplinary proceedings against me regarding data I accessed through the HISA Portal,” he said.
“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.”
“I made a good-faith effort to resolve this matter with HISA, and we came very close to doing so. Ultimately, we could not reach agreement on several issues, including my ability to speak publicly and tell my side of the story. I intend to vigorously defend myself in the HISA proceedings.”
The Straight has previously reported a leading Australian stable was suspected to have used bots to access the Single National System operated by Racing Australia, millions of times over an 18-month period, in a seperate but simialr incident.
Racing Australia would not confirm or deny that it has spoken to the stable about the issue, only saying that it has cyber security systems in place to identify and manage inappropriate usage and continues to improve these cyber security systems.
