ORC Statement On Mohawk Race

mohawk-race9-sept1.jpg
Published: September 4, 2014 02:54 pm EDT

Trot Insider has received a statement from the Ontario Racing Commission pertaining to its decision regarding Race 9 from Mohawk Racetrack on Monday, Sept. 1.

A downpour of rain midway through Monday's card rapidly degraded the track conditions at Mohawk. After the ninth race, in which a group of horses were refunded due to impedance caused by the starting car, the remaining three races were cancelled.

The statement, from the ORC's Manager of Racing Brent Stone, appears below. Please note that a revision to the statement was provided at 4:00 p.m.


Thank you for your inquiry regarding the 9th race at Mohawk, September 1, 2014.

Please reference the Rules of Standardbred Racing 2012 – Sections 22.32, 22.32.01 and 22.33

Here is a link on the ORC web site. Rules of Standardbred Racing 2012

In their opinion, the ORC Judges at Mohawk determined that the outside horses (4, 5, 7, 8) were prevented from having a fair chance (to quote the rule: “...prevented from having a fair chance to contest a race due to exceptional circumstances, and it is deemed in the public interest to do so, such horse shall be declared a non-contestant...”)

However, the Judges also determined that horses 1, 2, 3 were not affected and were able to properly contest this race. That is the lynchpin of their decision – these horses were entitled to contest.

Mohawk Racetrack is required to refund bets made on horses that have been declared by ORC officials to be “non-contestants”, as per the Pari-Mutuel Betting Supervision Regulations made pursuant to the Criminal Code. These regulations are administered by the Canadian Pari-Mutuel Agency (CPMA), the federal agency responsible for the supervision of betting.

As ORC Racing Officials, the Judges are called upon to apply their considerable experience and knowledge of the Rules of Racing to make decisions that adhere to those Rules. From time to time, some members of the public may disagree with some calls. The public can be assured that the mandate of the Ontario Racing Commission (ORC) is to protect the public interest, maintain the fairness of horse racing and officiate races according to the Rules of Racing.


Tags
Have something to say about this? Log in or create an account to post a comment.