Dustin On Western Fair Race Appeal

were the judges fired.the betters for the true winner recieved no money back so anyone that was responsible for such a poor decision should never again be in a judging position

STILL WAITING FOR AN EXPLANATION FROM THE JUDGES....I KNOW THEY READ THESE BLOGS SOMEONE SHOULD STEP UP AND GIVE US ALL A REASON

All of you betters that are making these comments should be addressing these concerns with the ORC. There are a lot of good judges out there that are very capable. I think that all judges should be evaluated on their performance and attend a seminar yearly, where video tapes of infractions such as this can also be evaluated.

Okay so the judges placed the horse that finished second, first and so on down the line.

Great, the ORC looked after the horseman's interests but what about the guy in the grandstand????

I was always under the impression the ORC's main focus was to protect the integrity of the sport. To watch over the persons interests in the grandstand.

Isn't that their number one priority when it comes to Judging the races? They're in place to make sure the races are run fairly and allow know tom foolery, or crookedness to take place during a race.

Why the silence from Hugh Mitchel and the rest of the management team at Western Fair raceway while this judging fiasco was left sitting on the ORC's Directors desk down in Toronto for the past three months?

If I had money on Resistol, I'd be absolutley livid. I'm sure the connections of Resistol will be awarded the winner's share of the purse but what about the patrons that had win money on Resistol or Resistol on top in Tri's, Supers, or Exactors?
REDICULOUS AND EMBARASSING!

There should be internal investigation on why these judges didn,t get it right.

Where is the accountability? If it was a horseman that did wrong their name would be plastered everywhere. The names of these judges are nowhere to be seen. Integrity, people integrity!

Wow, I am a casual race fan and bettor and I just watched that and I am appalled. The fact that his number stayed up is embarassing for the sport.

That had to be the most disapointing outcome in a race I have ever had as a bettor. Although the best horse in the race won. A good handicappers money would have been on Resistol. I have no idea how this horse stayed on the board, as most who have had a horse taken down on them in the past would. The ORC should be ashamed of this incident.

It's pretty bad when a bettor loses money on a race when their horse actually won, by rule.

again the bettor gets ripped off. judges make wrong call race declared offical. appeal is made judges change order of race at a later date.wrong bettors get paid right better gets ripped off could cost hundreds of dollars to bettors. something should be done to protect bettors. if an inqury is made, all bets on that race should be held untill all appeals are heard and the right order is offical. then pay out now no one gets ripped of and the right call is made.

What a farce.Why did it take this long?The betting public gets screwed again.

After reading the official document outlining the upheld appeal, I am still confused as to who was placed 5th and 6th.

An "appeals judge" (somewhat like a video replay referee in hockey), should be available at all tracks to further review any similar incidents getting them corrected on the spot.

Does this mean that I can now cash my tickets with the horse Resistol on top?

What kind of response does the ORC have for this kind of insane decision making. Now the judges are human we know and errors can be made but this is ridiculous. The ORC are very quick to administer their wrath upon us if we make an honest mistake, even if there isn't a specific rule. What happened to these judges,did they get fined and suspended. Fairness should go both ways I would think.

Where is the Pari-Mutuel agency in this item. Just how many bettors got screwed with that call. Does one wonder why bettors are departing in droves.

Frank Lester

Pylons were put in place of the hub rail for safety reasons, so think,if a horse went over the hub rail when it was in place, he would not have finished the race, he most likely would have been down, so, in fact, the pylons are the "Hub Rail" and therefore thr horse will have to be placed out of the money. Shame on the judges who should know better if they are in the position of making decisions.

THIS IS THE VERY WORST CALL IN HARNESS RACING HISTORY. SAD DAY FOR RACING.

after looking at this race,who ever the judges were should be fined and suspended....

There are two important issues here.

Not necessarily in the right order:

Issue 1: Making the correct call, and

Issue 2: The role of the Ontario Racing Commission, in allowing this
incident to fester. How much damage has been done to ALL the
parties involved with a 3 month delay?

I have said it once, and will continue to say it again, "Who will regulate the regulators?"

Yours for integrity, and transparency,

Marty Adler

Did anyone else notice Mr. McElroy grabbing for more leather before his horse left the course? Somebody help me out here but isn't there a rule where the driver must drive in a safe manner and maintain control of the horse, or something like that. Now, making the drivers keep their hands in the hand holds for better control of the horse is a great rule. Now you need to update that rule by stating that the handholds can't be in the back pockets of the driver. I am far from a driver but I have to believe that if the hand holds were set properly in the first place this would not of happened. You have to expect getting jammed up in a hole sometime so for everybody's safety, move the handholds up a little guys. The judges should have seen this and disqualified or fined Mr. McElroy for this infraction also. I do applaud Mr. McElroy for leaving the course, he probably saved a pile up. Your all in this together, be safe out there guys.

What would've happened if this was a big Stake race? I GUARANTEE the driver would've been set back and probably DQ'd!

I just seen the tape, anyone with any knowledge about racing could see that the horse should be thrown out i bet there was a real stink in the paddock after that one?

LOOKS LIKE THE JUDGES ARE SAYING THAT THERE IS NO RULE SAYING THAT A HORSE CANNOT ADVANCE THAT WAY ???...UNBELIEVABLE!!!!

I guess the ORC doesn't realize how much damage they are doing themselves to the integrity of the horse racing business with instances like this. Trouble with this is where does it leave the bettor, the people that dropped money on that race and any other race were there are goof ups? Fine, they lost me now.

I'm confident the appeal decision will correct the judges' error.

If not: Could I request that if a horse who appears hopelessy locked-in going down the backstretch, he be allowed to cut across the WFR infield parking lot to protect my betting interests? I promise I won't quit wagering on WFR racing (as so many have threatened) I'll just start handicapping differently !

Why couldn,t the orc make a decision on the spot. They look bad for not making a immediate stand. How long is this going to take ?

i raced a horse one day and the driver could not hold her and went inside 2 pylons.my horse got thrown and placed last and had to re-qualify.

I saw this race live, through simulcast, and could not believe the outcome. I've been following this story very closely mainly to try and figure out why the winner was not eventually placed back for his actions. Unfortunately I have never read or seen anything stating why. Can anyway please clarify this for me ?

i still dont understand how they could have possibly left his number up, things like this are not good to see left up for the public eye. it was too plain and simple to see and be set down, judges error to say the least is another black eye on racing

Glad to see that the appeals process is in good working order.

I'm sure all the proper placements will be made.
Purses re-distributed etc.
WHAT ABOUT THE THE POOR CUSTOMER.
What recourse do the bettors that had Tri"s Exactors Win money etc
have. I"ll tell you NONE.
Lets also see some kind of "placement for the Judges"

I sure hope they state a rule now. That race was a disgrace to the racing game, and everyone knows it!

I think all rules pertaining to "inside the pylons",should seriously be re-evaluated -REGULAR RACING FAN-

I Thought there was a rule, regarding the pylons. If you go inside 3 or more that you are automatically placed last? He went inside at least 15 (if not more). If this rule is not in exsitance I want my money! I have had a few horses go inside the pylons and was placed back, or last.

I think that all Horsemen should appeal all Pylon Violations now!

The O.R.C needs to have a serious review of themselves. They go on about integrity in horse racing.

This is totally wacked. IMO the judges in question should all be fired. This is only going to hurt the sport of horse racing in Canada. I know I am one person that has seen enough.