Saratoga Stewards Stew in Their Wrong Choice
Feb 16, 2014 15:34:28 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2014 15:34:28 GMT -5
GF posted about a DQ at Tampa Bay a few minutes ago, commenting on the inconsistency of stewards' rulings. I made me think of this incident, which caused a big stir in NY back in 1986. I hear people still talking every once in a while. I'm actually surprised that Ferrara got banished to Finger Lakes and not fired outright.
Horse Racing / Bill Christine : Saratoga Stewards Stew in Their Wrong Choice
August 14, 1986|BILL CHRISTINE
Little Finger Lakes race track, not far from picturesque Canandaigua Lake in central New York State, hasn't received this much attention in all its 25 years of operation.
Now it is getting attention for the wrong reason. Sal Ferrara, the state steward at fashionable, high-falutin' Saratoga, has been exiled to Finger Lakes for his role in declaring the wrong horse the winner of the second race Aug. 2.
Ferrara and his two associates in the stewards' stand disqualified a 3-year-old filly, even though she had cleanly won the grass race by 1 1/2 lengths. The horse the stewards should have disqualified finished third after crowding another horse into the hedge and eventually forcing her to go down.
At the end of the day, long after their mistake had been pointed out to them by at least one newspaperman, two jockeys and one patrol judge, the stewards sheepishly arrived at the press box with the announcement that they were revising the order of finish. The horse that had finished first would still receive the winner's share of the purse, and the horse that had run third, but tried to knock the other horse over the hedge, would be dropped back to last place.
Trouble was, more than $1.2 million had been bet by a crowd of more than 42,000 at Saratoga and by thousands of others at satellite wagering facilities around the state. By law, about 83% of that amount--about $1 million--had to be paid out to the bettors. But the fans who held good daily-double, quinella and win-place-show tickets on Allumeuse, the name of the winning horse, were out of luck.
Once the stewards made their unfortunate decision, the "official" sign lit up and the incorrect payoffs were made. Class-action suits would seem likely, but for litigants to win, a court would have to disregard the rules of racing.
It is fortunate for the stewards and the track that the incident occurred at bucolic Saratoga, in the heart of the tranquilizing Adirondacks, rather than in fast-paced New York City. At Saratoga, there is more concern about a matching hat or ascot, or about having enough Perrier in the picnic basket, than about cashing winning tickets.
At Belmont Park, Aqueduct or the Meadowlands in nearby New Jersey, where more of New York's high-rolling bettors gather, such a mistake probably would have started a full-scale riot.
Not too many years ago, there was a riot at the Meadowlands, caused by the scratching of a heavy favorite, ridden by Angel Cordero, at the starting gate. The horse was part of an entry, and the bettors were stuck with a much less desirable runner because of the scratch.
The crowd stormed the mutuel windows, forcing track management to cancel the races and close the plant for the evening.
The incident at Saratoga prompts these questions:
--How did it happen?
--What could have been done about it?
Some observers have said that had Gerry Burke, the senior steward at Saratoga, been present, the mistake would not have been made. Burke was away Aug. 2 because of an illness in the family.
The same thing was suggested last year at Hialeah, where veteran steward Walter Blum was absent because of his mother's death and a judgment call on a slam-bang finish to the Flamingo Stakes bewildered most everyone, including John Galbreath, the owner of Proud Truth, who won first money as a result of the decision. A blue-ribbon panel appointed by the State of Florida later rescinded the stewards' verdict and took away Proud Truth's win.
Racing is in a lamentable situation, however, if the absence of just one official leaves the sport vulnerable at two of the most important tracks in the country.
But this may indeed be racing's plight. The Daily Racing Form seldom mixes in controversy, but after the disputed race at Saratoga, Joe Hirsch wrote:
"It seems that the matter of steward selection and compensation has been a cause of concern nationally for some time. Because of a variety of considerations, some clearly political and some representing a lack of racing expertise on the part of track managements around the country, there are people in the stewards' stands who are not fully qualified either in background or temperament."
When Ferrara, a former FBI man and racing investigator for the state, was named a New York steward several years ago, some people wondered about his qualifications to referee races.
"He was a guy who liked to bet a little bit before he got into racing," another former FBI man said. "But does that make him any different than a lot of other guys?"
There are several theories as to why Ferrara and the two other stewards mistook Allumeuse for Syntonic, the horse who actually committed the foul, although none of the theories explain the egregious error:
--Both horses wore shadow rolls. It is not uncommon, however, for more than one horse in a race to wear a shadow roll, a fleecy noseband designed to block a horse's eyes from distractions on the track.
Horse Racing / Bill Christine : Saratoga Stewards Stew in Their Wrong Choice
August 14, 1986|BILL CHRISTINE
Little Finger Lakes race track, not far from picturesque Canandaigua Lake in central New York State, hasn't received this much attention in all its 25 years of operation.
Now it is getting attention for the wrong reason. Sal Ferrara, the state steward at fashionable, high-falutin' Saratoga, has been exiled to Finger Lakes for his role in declaring the wrong horse the winner of the second race Aug. 2.
Ferrara and his two associates in the stewards' stand disqualified a 3-year-old filly, even though she had cleanly won the grass race by 1 1/2 lengths. The horse the stewards should have disqualified finished third after crowding another horse into the hedge and eventually forcing her to go down.
At the end of the day, long after their mistake had been pointed out to them by at least one newspaperman, two jockeys and one patrol judge, the stewards sheepishly arrived at the press box with the announcement that they were revising the order of finish. The horse that had finished first would still receive the winner's share of the purse, and the horse that had run third, but tried to knock the other horse over the hedge, would be dropped back to last place.
Trouble was, more than $1.2 million had been bet by a crowd of more than 42,000 at Saratoga and by thousands of others at satellite wagering facilities around the state. By law, about 83% of that amount--about $1 million--had to be paid out to the bettors. But the fans who held good daily-double, quinella and win-place-show tickets on Allumeuse, the name of the winning horse, were out of luck.
Once the stewards made their unfortunate decision, the "official" sign lit up and the incorrect payoffs were made. Class-action suits would seem likely, but for litigants to win, a court would have to disregard the rules of racing.
It is fortunate for the stewards and the track that the incident occurred at bucolic Saratoga, in the heart of the tranquilizing Adirondacks, rather than in fast-paced New York City. At Saratoga, there is more concern about a matching hat or ascot, or about having enough Perrier in the picnic basket, than about cashing winning tickets.
At Belmont Park, Aqueduct or the Meadowlands in nearby New Jersey, where more of New York's high-rolling bettors gather, such a mistake probably would have started a full-scale riot.
Not too many years ago, there was a riot at the Meadowlands, caused by the scratching of a heavy favorite, ridden by Angel Cordero, at the starting gate. The horse was part of an entry, and the bettors were stuck with a much less desirable runner because of the scratch.
The crowd stormed the mutuel windows, forcing track management to cancel the races and close the plant for the evening.
The incident at Saratoga prompts these questions:
--How did it happen?
--What could have been done about it?
Some observers have said that had Gerry Burke, the senior steward at Saratoga, been present, the mistake would not have been made. Burke was away Aug. 2 because of an illness in the family.
The same thing was suggested last year at Hialeah, where veteran steward Walter Blum was absent because of his mother's death and a judgment call on a slam-bang finish to the Flamingo Stakes bewildered most everyone, including John Galbreath, the owner of Proud Truth, who won first money as a result of the decision. A blue-ribbon panel appointed by the State of Florida later rescinded the stewards' verdict and took away Proud Truth's win.
Racing is in a lamentable situation, however, if the absence of just one official leaves the sport vulnerable at two of the most important tracks in the country.
But this may indeed be racing's plight. The Daily Racing Form seldom mixes in controversy, but after the disputed race at Saratoga, Joe Hirsch wrote:
"It seems that the matter of steward selection and compensation has been a cause of concern nationally for some time. Because of a variety of considerations, some clearly political and some representing a lack of racing expertise on the part of track managements around the country, there are people in the stewards' stands who are not fully qualified either in background or temperament."
When Ferrara, a former FBI man and racing investigator for the state, was named a New York steward several years ago, some people wondered about his qualifications to referee races.
"He was a guy who liked to bet a little bit before he got into racing," another former FBI man said. "But does that make him any different than a lot of other guys?"
There are several theories as to why Ferrara and the two other stewards mistook Allumeuse for Syntonic, the horse who actually committed the foul, although none of the theories explain the egregious error:
--Both horses wore shadow rolls. It is not uncommon, however, for more than one horse in a race to wear a shadow roll, a fleecy noseband designed to block a horse's eyes from distractions on the track.