The Jockey Club and the International Cataloguing Standards Committee have lodged objections to the decision of the Pennsylvania State Horse Racing Commission to certify two winners of the 2016 Parx Oaks. The racing commission ruled last month (TDN 5/22/17) that both Miss Inclusive (Include) and Eighth Wonder (Pioneerof the Nile) would be listed as winners of the Oaks. Miss Inclusive finished first in the race, but subsequently tested positive for clenbuterol, was disqualified and trainer John Servis was handed a 15-day suspension. Servis argued Miss Inclusive's positive level, and that of two other of his runners, was below the threshold levels recommended by the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium. The trainer's suspension was rescinded and Miss Inclusive's black-type was reinstated, but her connections did not receive the winner's share of the purse.
In his letter addressed to PHRC director Tom Chuckas, The Jockey Club's president and chief operating officer James Gagliano wrote:
“This unprecedented ruling in regard to the fillies Miss Inclusive and Eighth Wonder has already caused significant confusion regarding the official Equibase chart of the race, and it is sure to have further ramifications in the areas of breeding and bloodstock sales.
• How can a bettor reading past performances be expected to comprehend that a race had two winners when the chart will clearly reveal it was not a dead-heat?
• How can a stallion owner accurately assess the quality and racing history of these fillies if someone wants to breed them to one of his stallions?
• And how can a prospective buyer of those two fillies, or any of their eventual progeny, feel confident about the details listed on their respective catalog pages?
In essence, it seems like the commission has made an arbitrary change to the order of finish, which sets a harmful precedent for the adjudication of future medication overages.
It has also damaged the image and integrity of our sport, not only in Pennsylvania but in the other 37 jurisdictions in this country where Thoroughbred racing takes place.”
Gagliano called on the racing commission to reconsider its decision at its upcoming June 28 meeting.
Carl Hamilton, chairman of the NAICSC, echoed that call for the commission to reconsider its decision.
“The first three finishers in approved races receive black-type in sales catalogues,” Hamilton wrote. “The first-place horse is recognized as the winner and the second and third-place horses are recognized as placed. This international standard is accepted world-wide and the importance of the proper recognition of black-type cannot be understated as it plays a key role in the conduct of Thoroughbred sales. The Commission's decision of having two winners without a dead heat, as well as moving the third-place finisher to second and fourth-place finisher to third, misrepresents black-type in sales catalogues by designating two winners and includes four horses in the first three positions. This artificial manipulation of the results is misleading, confusing and factually incorrect.”
Dan Metzger, president of Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders' Association, also called on the commission to reconsider its decision in a June 26 letter.
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