While driver Brett Miller cannot be fined for a fist pump, he can be fined taking his hands out of the handholds during a race. So said the judges at Scioto Downs after Miller's winning steer aboard Always B Miki in the 2016 Jim Ewart Memorial Invitational Pace.
Rule 3769-17-17 (A) pertains to Use of the whip and states "All drivers must keep a line in each hand beginning when the horse is behind the starting gate and continuing through the finish of the race."
Miller took both lines into his left hand and gave a celebratory fist pump with his right arm. He did not use the whip while holding both lines in one hand.
On Sunday, news spread that Miller would in fact receive a $300 fine from the Ohio State Racing Commission for the violation.
Scioto Downs presiding judge John Yinger told The Horseman on Monday that Miller will not receive a fine. Yinger said after talking to Miller and discussing a possible fine, he called Ohio State Racing Commission executive director Bill Crawford to review the situation.
"After further review and discussions with the Ohio State Racing Commission, the judges felt that the fine was not warranted due to mitigating circumstances," said Yinger.