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                      -- DQ - Gulfstream Rainbow Six

"Twitter is blowing up. So is Facebook. Everybody is talking about the bettor who singled the #12 horse in the final leg of the Rainbow 6 at Gulfstream this afternoon, only to be disqualified out of a payoff of nearly two million dollars.

The following thread at Paceadvantege says it all:
http://www.paceadvantage.com/forum/showthread.php?t=111201&page=1&pp=15

"Worst beat of ALL TIME (Rainbow 6 at Gulfstream) 12 wins the finale at GP, one winning ticket, gets DQed on a VERY shaky call at best. I'm sorry, but that is just wrong and screams of conflict of interest."

Then, later this afternoon, a player I know sent me the following email:

"I logged into Twinspires and tried to watch the head on replay. Guess what? The race with the DQ is the only one on the day at Gulfstream without a head on replay. Somehow, the head on replay for that race is magically blacked out!"

Here are my thoughts on this:

I may not agree with the call itself. And whether or not you agree with the call you have to feel truly awful for the bettor whose horse was DQ'd.

Good call... bad call... a call where the majority of the bettors want the stewards tarred and feathered... a call where the majority agree with the call, etc....

All of that pales by comparison to what's being done here.

This game is sorely lacking in transparency.

You see, lack of transparency is seen by many as a lack of integrity.

If you want to bring some integrity to decisions handed down by the stewards:

THE ONE THING YOU HAVE TO DO EVERY SINGLE TIME (AT THE VERY LEAST) IS MAKE THE VIDEO THE STEWARDS USED TO MAKE THEIR CALL PUBLICLY AVAILABLE.

Don't hide the video and hope the controversy fades away. In my opinion that's FAR WORSE than the call itself.

Jeff Platt
President, HANA"

"It might not have been a no-brainer, but the DQ was warranted. There was no conspiracy to keep the Rainbow Six jackpot alive. The stewards got it right. But this surely is small consolation to the bettor who missed the score of a lifetime. Nor will it inspire or bolster the betting public, which knows that stewards are apt to get the next one wrong."

"
Gulfstream To Provide Bettors More Information On Disqualifications

02/28/2014

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL - Gulfstream Park announced today it will begin instituting changes to provide bettors more information and greater transparency whenever there is a disqualification or objection on any of its races.

"We truly believe the bettor deserves a detailed explanation as to why a horse has been disqualified," said Gulfstream President Tim Ritvo. "The bettor is not only the economic engine that drives this sport, but he and she is also the biggest fan of the sport. We need to continue to find ways to improve the integrity and transparency of the sport. We have not done a good job explaining why our stewards have disqualified a horse, and we're going to change that. We have a few changes we will implement immediately, but we are studying a number of other ideas, including a camera and microphone in the stewards' booth."

Track announcer Larry Collmus will provide a detailed explanation for the ruling while a replay of the infraction is highlighted and played from pan and head-on angles. A statement by the stewards will be posted on Gulfstream Park's website under disqualifications.

"I have talked to several track officials and respected stewards over the past week and we've discussed several ways of being more transparent when it comes to objections and inquiries," Ritvo said. "Obviously, there's never going to be a 100 percent consensus whether a horse should or should not be taken down. We want stewards to be consistent, but we also want them to treat each race individually because every scenario is different. We also want them to be quick, but sometimes decisions take longer, especially after a turf race because stewards must wait for the jockeys to come back. But we feel we can provide our bettors more information and information that's more timely.

"There will be things we add, maybe a few we eventually subtract, but our decisions will be based on what is best for our bettors," Ritvo said. "If these changes work at Gulfstream, we will roll them out across all Stronach Group tracks."

"

"New York racing regulators raised the prospects of imposing new transparency standards on stewards, including possibly publicly releasing videos that are used by stewards in decisions affecting the outcome of a race.

The concerns come after last month's controversy at Gulfstream Park involving a call by stewards on the last race of a day that was a part of the Rainbow 6 jackpot bet. A bettor lost the chance for $1.66 million after stewards disqualified a horse in that final race."