Published:
October 3, 2012 01:04 pm EDT
It's not every day that you see a horse on the lead get set down for interfering with horses at the back of the pack. That's what happened on Saturday night at The Red Mile.
Odds On Equuleus finished first but the horse was disqualified for causing interference to the trailing horses. The race has been appealed by the connections of Odds On Equuleus.
Can you interfere with a horse when you don't come into contact with it? You be the judge.
The only credit you can give
The only credit you can give these judges is in having the nerve to take a 1-5 down (albeit mistakingly)
Maybe the worst call I have seen in forty years of race watching.
A really, really bad call by
A really, really bad call by officials.
Sears ran into Gingras without anyone's help.
Sears is a grown man and standarbred driver, incidently pretty crafty also in his quest to sneak by Gingras.
An absolute bad call on Campbell.
Campbell out drove every
Campbell out drove every other driver in the race and did absolutley nothing wrong. If anything Sears should be fined for the slow first quarter. Cant believe this horse was DQ'd.
Short answer yes, harness
Short answer yes, harness racing isn't a contact sport. This is one of those judgement calls like in any sport. Did Sear's horse run up the back of Gingras', perhaps. Did Sears start this to begin with by posting a slow first quarter hence all the action which started his colt up, looked that way to me. JC goes three wide to make front in a 27 second quarter anyone behind him knows the brakes are coming on a touch however it still looked like Sear's colt was a little wound in third and it in my opinion it looks worse than it really was. Should he have been placed? 50-50 and I'm betting if there were 3 judges or stewards whatever the vote was 2-1 for placing after a considerable amount of review. Like I said strictly a "call em as you see em moment" and in those nobody is ever happy, isn't that right replacement refs.