Mon, August 1, 2016

RACE 5: Stewards inquiry and Jockeys objection from the rider of the third place finisher #8 Light the Vow (Michael Luzzi) against the second place finisher

#7 Pinnacle Mountain (Javier Castellano) for alleged interference in the vicinity of the 1/8 pole. #7 Pinnacle Mountain drifts out in the stretch  makes contact with #8 Light the Vow making him steady while stopping his momentum and #8 Light the Vow comes back to finish third by a head to the second place finisher #7 Pinnacle Mountain. After reviewing the race video and speaking to the riders involved, in the judgment of the stewards this incident altered the finish. #7 was disqualified from 2^nd and placed 3^rd, the new order of finish is 4.8.7.2  

With regard to interference, New York is a “Category 2” state, meaning that Commission rules provide that if the interferer is guilty of causing interference and such interference in the judgment of the Stewards has altered the finish of the race, then the interferer is placed behind the offended horse.

The Stewards consider whether the riders of the horse or horses that are offended continue to give effort to the finish of the race.

The Stewards also consider whether the offending jockey acted in a willful or careless manner while interfering with another horse or jockey, for which the interferer may be disqualified, i.e., placed last or unplaced in the order of finish. For example, if an offending jockey acts in a dangerous manner, exhibits extremely improper riding or impedes several horses, the Stewards may disqualify the offending horse without regard to the specific effect of the foul on the order of finish.

For more information, see Commission rule 4035.2 (“Riding foul penalized

RACE 4: Stewards inquiry into the running of the 4^th race where #6 Domestic Warrior (Mike Luzzi) appeared to take a bad step and suffered a fatal musculoskeletal injury. After reviewing the video no further action is warranted 3-5-4-2 is the order of finish.