Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
First-time gelding’s win prompts revisiting of rules
ARCADIA, Calif. – Although the winning pick-six ticket that scooped up the $898,568 single-ticket jackpot on Saturday at Santa Anita had not been cashed as of late Sunday, the wheels already are in motion regarding parimutuel handling of recently gelded horses such as final-race winner Fly to Mars.
The pick six generated controversy even before race 11, the final race in the sequence, was run. It was announced after race 10, and less than 20 minutes before the finale, that Fly to Mars was a first-time gelding. Fly to Mars was the only runner who could have triggered a single-ticket payout.
Many were upset that the horse was allowed to start, considering no information had been released that Fly to Mars had been gelded since his most recent start. First-time gelding is a significant factor typically listed in the program and designated in past performances. Trainers are expected to inform the racing office after a horse is gelded.
The Santa Anita stewards referred the late gelding announcement to California Horse Racing Board investigators. Fly to Mars’s trainer, Peter Miller, could face a penalty of $1,000 or more if the determination is made that he failed to inform the racing office of the change.
Miller said on Saturday that Fly to Mars had been gelded months earlier. Miller, who trains one of the largest stables in California, called it “an oversight.” The stewards, the racing office, and the betting public were unaware that the horse had been gelded until he was examined by horse identifier Jennifer Paige some 30 minutes before he ran.
In the aftermath of the controversy, stewards Scott Chaney, Grant Baker, and Kim Sawyer requested “direction” from the CHRB in the event of a future late announcement.
Stewards initially considered scratching Fly to Mars after learning that he was gelded following his most recent start, which had come nearly a year earlier. However, Chaney said that under CHRB rules, they do not have the authority to scratch a horse in that situation. Final two Thursdays canceled
The decision by Santa Anita to cancel the final two Thursdays of the spring-summer meet does not necessarily mean three-day race weeks will become standard, according to Tim Ritvo, chief operating officer of Santa Anita owner The Stronach Group.
Santa Anita announced last Friday the cancellation of live racing this Thursday and June 22. The track will run three-day race weeks this Friday through Sunday and June 23-25 instead of four-day weeks. The meet ends with a five-day week – Friday, June 30, through Tuesday, July 4.
“That’s not our ultimate goal to just go to three days a week,” Ritvo said Saturday. “We want to increase race days, but we have to give the customers cards that they’re going to bet on.”
Ritvo, who was in New York on Saturday to attend the Belmont Stakes, said the decision to drop the last two Thursdays was made after evaluating horse inventory and planning for the five-day week that ends the meet.
“We thought we were going to be really light anyway … and especially because the last week we run a five-day week,” Ritvo said. “It’s a short-term fix right now. We have to get a longterm solution to our field size.”
Santa Anita has struggled to fill races at this meet, averaging 7.29 starters per race heading into this week. The track canceled two previous Thursdays – April 27 and June 8 – due to insufficient entries. Partly as a result of the most recent cancellation, Santa Anita was able to offer an appealing ninerace card this past Friday. Business was up.
“We saw good results Friday,” Ritvo said. “We were up 40 percent compared to the same day last year.”
He said increased field size and one extra race contributed to the increase. Ritvo hopes eliminating the final Thursdays produces similar results.
“Now that we have those days off, we’ll look at Friday-Saturday-Sunday, and compare them to a Thursday-Friday-SaturdaySunday, and that will be a test,” he said, emphasizing two key considerations. “One, we want to make sure we don’t hurt the horsemen, and two, make sure the fans get a better experience.”