Very bizarre situation at Kentucky Downs today, and I don't think they handled it well. Race 5 went off and two horses were still behind the starting gate; never got loaded. The other 10 horses ran and completed the race. So there will be an inquiry, and both horses will scratch and all wagers on those two horses will be refunded, right? The inquiry lasts much longer than anticipated. Then the announcement; the race is declared a no contest. All wagers refunded, and no purse money distributed. The 1 horse overcame a lot of traffic to get up and win. This was a $90k Maiden purse. $54k to the winner. But as a non event, nobody got anything. Its as if it never happened.
What should they have done? Two choices; refund all wagers on the two horses left behind the gate. The other 10 ran and were not effected. The other option would be to declare the race for purse only, and all wagers refunded. I think that the first choice would be preferred, but the second would still be better than to declare it a complete non-event. Horsemen really got screwed this time.
What should they have done? Two choices; refund all wagers on the two horses left behind the gate. The other 10 ran and were not effected. The other option would be to declare the race for purse only, and all wagers refunded. I think that the first choice would be preferred, but the second would still be better than to declare it a complete non-event. Horsemen really got screwed this time.
