category 1 rules

The general lack of racing around America in light of local restrictions due to the impact of COVID-19 has focused the attention of customers on a select number of races at any one time. A natural byproduct has been collective social media outrage at a pair of stewards' decisions which demoted winners, once Sunday at Oaklawn Park and another on Tuesday at Fonner Park. This is not a story about the Thoroughbred Idea Foundation's suggestion that North America should shift its rules philosophy to the international standard--known as Category 1....

The combat of illegal betting was a key theme during the first session of panels at the Asian Racing Conference in Cape Town on Wednesday. Douglas Robinson, senior due diligence and research manager for the Hong Kong Jockey Club and deputy chairman of the Asian Racing Federation Anti-Illegal Betting Taskforce, said racing "faces a war against a rampant illegal betting market" and stressed the need for racing regulators to build relationships with governments to combat the problem. The ARF's Anti-Illegal Betting Taskforce was set up in 2016 and comprises 14...