By Andy Stephens
The British Horseracing Authority on Tuesday pledged to “get things right first time” after announcing that two finishes at Bangor last week were incorrectly called as dead heats.
Further analysis of the photo-finishes at the track included one in which there was a supposed dead heat for first place between Oneida Tribe and Pinch Of Ginger in the 2m4f novices’ handicap chase which opened the card.
It has now been determined that the former, trained by Robin Dickin, won by a nose but the joy of his connections is likely to be shortlived because at a subsequent stewards’ inquiry he was demoted for causing interference.
The stewards reconvened at Wolverhampton on Monday night, in light of the new finishing order, but said they were satisfied Oneida Tribe should still be demoted.
Photo-finishes are usually called in a matter of seconds nowadays but Michael Roberts, the
judge at Bangor, scrutinised the evidence available to him for more than seven minutes before declaring Oneida Tribe and Pinch Of Ginger had crossed the line as one.
He was unable to ascertain who had taken the spoils, as the nose of Pinch Of Ginger was fully obscured by the head of Oneida Tribe and a reverse image was unavailable.
In the next race he also called a dead-heat for third in a seven-runner race. That result has also been amended.
Following the meeting, the Judge discussed the photo-finish of the novices’ handicap chase with the Judges Team Principal and asked to correct his decision, stating that Oneida Tribe should be called as the horse who crossed the finishing line first.
As a consequence the BHA summoned the Stewarding panel from Bangor and asked them to revisit their decision.
This process was undertaken at Wolverhampton on Monday night but the Stewards confirmed that the revised finishing order would not alter their decision.
Jamie Stier, Chief Regulatory Officer for the BHA, admitted on Tuesday such a scenario was not good enough in an industry where fine margins can make big differences to competitors and bettors alike.
“It is essential that the BHA carries out all of its raceday officiating duties with the utmost accuracy,” Stier said. “In other circumstances it is quite feasible that both bookmakers and punters could have been significantly affected by an incorrect result being called.
“Incidents such as this illustrate why we have the ability to review decisions. The issue has been identified and rectified properly and fairly, in communication with connections of all horses. But that does not alter that our first priority is to get the decisions right on the day.
“As such we will, of course, be taking steps to ensure that such an incident does not occur again, and will consider the matter internally.”
He added: “The issue with mirrors is not confined to Bangor-On-Dee, which is one of a number of racecourses where the width of the finishing line, dependent on the rail position, is too great for the mirror system to cover the entirety of the finishing line.
The dead-heat that wasn't a dead-heat at Bangor. Oneida Tribe (No 3) and Pinch Of Ginger are locked together at the end of their controversial race
“We intend to commence a piece of work with photo-finish suppliers to ascertain whether this issue can be addressed, though there are significant challenges involved when it comes to course layout.”
Some punters would have lost out on the incorrect result at Bangor because many bookmakers pay out on the horse first past the post, plus any revised outcome.
In this instance, they would only have had to pay half of what backers of Oneida Tribe were entitled to.
Also, on Betfair, punters would have been able to bet on the outcome of the photo-finish and stewards' inquiry, plus the first three places in the seven-runner race where there was a dead-heat for third.
The verdict of the latter race would have also affected spread bettors wagering on the performance of individual horses.
He will take the rest of the week to decide what to do but has suggested he might now not appeal because of the financial gamble he would be taking.