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Monday, June 26, 2017Contact: Bob Curran Jr. (212) 521-5326
The Jockey Club and NAICSC Submit Letters to Pennsylvania State Horse Racing Commission

The Jockey Club and the North American International Cataloguing Standards Committee (NAICSC) have submitted the following two letters, pertaining to the 2016 Parx Oaks, to the Pennsylvania State Horse Racing Commission in advance of its next regularly scheduled meeting (Wednesday, June 28, 2017 at 1 p.m. EDT).

 

 

http://www.jockeyclub.com/logos/TJC_sample.jpg

 

June 14, 2017

 

Mr. Tom Chuckas

Director, Bureau of Horse Racing

State Horse Racing Commission

Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture

2301 North Cameron Street

Harrisburg, PA 17110

 

Dear Tom,

 

As the breed registry for Thoroughbreds in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico, The Jockey Club (as well as its affiliated organizations) strives on a daily basis to maintain the integrity of The American Stud Book and all statistics pertaining to Thoroughbred breeding and racing.

 

That is why I am writing to voice our strong objection to the Pennsylvania State Horse Racing Commission’s recent decision to declare two winners of the 2016 Parx Oaks.

 

This unprecedented ruling in regard to the fillies Miss Inclusive and Eighth Wonder has already caused significant confusion regarding the official Equibase chart of the race, and it is sure to have further ramifications in the areas of breeding and bloodstock sales.

 

• How can a bettor reading past performances be expected to comprehend that a race had two winners when the chart will clearly reveal it was not a dead-heat?

 

• How can a stallion owner accurately assess the quality and racing history of these fillies if someone wants to breed them to one of his stallions?

 

• And how can a prospective buyer of those two fillies, or any of their eventual progeny, feel confident about the details listed on their respective catalog pages?

 

In essence, it seems like the commission has made an arbitrary change to the order of finish, which sets a harmful precedent for the adjudication of future medication overages.

 

It has also damaged the image and integrity of our sport, not only in Pennsylvania but in the other 37 jurisdictions in this country where Thoroughbred racing takes place.

 

On behalf of The Jockey Club, I respectfully encourage the Pennsylvania State Horse Racing Commission to include a reconsideration of this decision as an agenda item for its June 28, 2017 meeting with the hope that it will ultimately alter its decision and declare one official winner of the 2016 Parx Oaks.

 

Please feel free to contact me if you have questions or would like to discuss this matter further.

 

Sincerely,

James L. Gagliano

President and Chief Operating Officer

The Jockey Club

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
North American International Catalogue Standards Committee

 

June 16, 2017

 

Mr. Tom Chuckas

Thoroughbred Bureau Director

State Horse Racing Commission

2301 N. Cameron Street

Room 304

Harrisburg, PA 17110

 

Dear Mr. Chuckas:

 

I am writing on behalf of the North American International Cataloguing Standards Committee (NAICSC) to express our concern with the action taken by the Pennsylvania State Horse Racing Commission with regard to the official order of finish for the 2016 Parx Oaks. NAICSC establishes the requirements for non-Listed races in North America that receive black-type in sales catalogues that are compliant with guidelines required by the Society of International Thoroughbred Auctioneers (SITA).

 

The first three finishers in approved races receive black-type in sales catalogues. The first place horse is recognized as the winner and the second and third place horses are recognized as placed. This international standard is accepted world-wide and the importance of the proper recognition of black-type cannot be understated as it plays a key role in the conduct of Thoroughbred sales. The Commission’s decision of having two winners without a dead heat, as well as moving the third place finisher to second and fourth place finisher to third, misrepresents black-type in sales catalogues by designating two winners and includes four horses in the first three positions. This artificial manipulation of the results is misleading, confusing and factually incorrect.

 

NAICSC respectfully requests that the Pennsylvania State Horse Racing Commission reverse the decision for the 2016 Parx Oaks and declare one winner of the race. The current decision which designates two winners without a dead heat and four horses in the top three positions misrepresents the outcome of the race and related black-type in sales catalogues.

 

Thank you for your consideration of our request and please contact me if you wish to discuss this in further detail.

 

Yours sincerely,

Carl Hamilton

Chairman, NAICSC