Jessica Chapel / Railbird

Stewards

You’re Not Welcome in Racing

That’s what the stewards should say to all involved on August 7, when a hearing is held regarding this repellent incident:

A Sacramento horse owner and the silks custodian at Cal Expo are in trouble with the California Horse Racing Board for allowing a horse to improperly race in the colors of the Confederate battle flag during the state fair meet July 15.

The horse, Mute Rudulph, won the fourth race that day in his racing debut for owners Bill Wilbur, Chris Carpenter, and Bill McLean, who also trains the horse. The 2-year-old bay colt is named after Ken Rudulph, a host for the horse racing network TVG. Rudulph, who is African-American, is coincidentally from Sacramento.

The CHRB alleges that track colors man Tony Baze “received financial consideration and conspired to aid and abet” with Wilbur to substitute the “Southern Cross” for the horse’s designated colors.

There’s no excuse for Wilbur or Baze. Via @o_crunk and @superterrific.

8/7/10 Update: The CHRB hearing scheduled for today has been postponed until August 26, due to Baze appearing without legal representation.

Posted in Racing on July 29, 2010 / Tagged Cal Expo, California, CHRB, Mute Rudulph, Racism in Racing, Stewards, Wrongdoing / 3 comments

NY Stewards Go Public

Hooray! Or should I say, about time!

NYRA announces stewards’ decisions will be made public:

Directly following any decision they make having to do with the official order of finish, including inquiries and objections, the stewards … will provide an explanation of what happened and the reason for their decision. That information will then be communicated via the NYRA television feed and will be posted on the new Stewards’ Corner section on NYRA.com …

“This new policy is a big step forward in providing transparency of the stewards’ decision making,” NYRA President and CEO Charles Hayward said. “Millions of dollars are bet every day at NYRA tracks and customers should know why decisions are made in the stewards’ stand.”

Why, yes, bettors should. This is the page to bookmark.

Posted in Racing on July 23, 2010 / Tagged Fantasy Made Reality, More Information Please, NYRA, Stewards, Things Fans Want, Transparency / Comments Off