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Racing Officials Accreditation Program Now Accepting Pete Pedersen Award Nominations

The Racing Officials Accreditation Program (ROAP) has commenced the nominations and balloting process for the 2021 Pete Pedersen Award to be presented to stewards who have served the sport of horse racing with distinction.

Named in honor of the long-time outstanding steward and noted journalist Pete Pedersen, the Pedersen Award presentation will be held in conjunction with the annual University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program's Global Symposium on Racing in December in Tucson, Ariz.

Pedersen worked as a steward in California for 50 years before retiring at the age of 85 in 2005. The Seattle native became the second steward to receive the Eclipse Award of Merit in 2002 and he was given the Laffit Pincay Jr. Award in 2008 for serving the racing industry with integrity, dedication, determination and distinction. Pedersen worked at nearly every track on the West Coast, and his reputation of objectivity and kindness is widely known in the racing industry and beyond.

The criteria to be used in determining award recipients includes length of service as a steward, special contributions as a steward, participation in industry integrity initiatives, participation in racing public educational programs, mentoring stewards and racing officials, and participation in educational programs for stewards and racing officials.

The goal is to recognize stewards who have been outstanding in fulfilling their responsibilities in regulating racing but who also are giving back to the industry.

Anyone can nominate current or retired stewards for the award. A special selection committee of five members from ROAP affiliate organizations will determine the recipients.

Nominations are due October 15, 2021. Those wishing to make nominations for the award can do so online by going to horseracingofficials.com and clicking on the green Pete Pedersen Award Nomination Form or by contacting Alyssa Carwile, ROAP coordinator, at contactus@horseracingofficials.com.

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‘They Just Didn’t Wait’: De Sousa, Horseplayers Frustrated By Starter At Royal Ascot

Jockey Silvestre de Sousa expressed his frustrations with the starter at Royal Ascot to the Racing Post on Thursday, after an incident in Wednesday's final race saw the gates open before he could remove the hood from his mount, Stunning Beauty. De Sousa was forced to immediately pull up the horse, but after a lengthy 30-minute delay, stewards officially ruled Stunning Beauty had been a starter.

“The hood didn't come off so I couldn't race,” de Sousa told the Racing Post. “He could have waited two more seconds for me to get it off, but he wouldn't wait and opened the stalls before I could take the hood off. I was shouting, there was a lot of talking going on in there, and they could have waited for me. They just didn't wait.”

Gamblers were also frustrated, as the stewards' decision meant no refunds or deductions would be given out.

A report from the stewards said: “The stewards only have the power to declare a horse a non-runner if it has been prevented from starting due to a faulty action of the stalls or the horse is riderless at the time the start was effected. As De Sousa was mounted at the time the start was effected and there was no faulty action of the starting stalls, Stunning Beauty was deemed to have started.”

In an article in the South China Morning Post, Hong Kong Jockey Club chief steward Kim Kelly said bettors wagering on the race via the world pool ought to have received a refund, and in fact would have if the race had occurred in Hong Kong.

“The IFHA (International Federation of Horseracing Authorities) have introduced a model rule into the international agreement dealing with non-runners but not everyone has signed up to it,” Kelly said. “I have no doubt at all she would have been declared a non-runner (here). The old saying is that to lose money you've got to be able to win money.”

Read more at the Racing Post and the South China Morning Post.

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Australia: Jockey Banned Eight Years For Betting On Himself

A jockey who changed his name by deed poll and used it to operate a betting account while still riding under his old name has been disqualified for a total of eight years.

Terry Treichel rode over 1,200 winners across New South Wales and Queensland before relocating to Northern Territory.

But when Thoroughbred Racing Northern Territory (TRNT) stewards began investigating allegations of betting activity at Alice Springs they discovered Treichel had changed his name to Daniel Jack Smith.

The 41-year-old Smith, formerly Treichel, pleaded guilty to all 32 charges issued against him while a licensed jockey between July 2019 and December 2020.

These included falsely declaring in his licence application that his name was Terry Treichel when he had changed his identity to Smith.

He committed 27 breaches of betting rules, 16 relating to bets on his own mounts and 11 on other runners in races he was involved in. He placed approximately 174 bets on races he has not riding in through various betting accounts. There was no evidence of any corruption in the races the jockey bet and rode in.

As one of the accounts was opened in 2015, Smith could be investigated by Racing NSW and Queensland as he was licensed by both jurisdictions.

The inquiry notice said: “This is a unique set of circumstances not seen before in Australian racing. The coveting of a change of identity and subsequent volume of betting whilst licensed as a jockey is unprecedented.”

Smith has the right to appeal.

This story was originally published by Horse Racing Planet and is reprinted here with permission.

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Chief Steward Barbara Borden Goes On The Record About ‘Life-Changing’ Derby Disqualification

Nearly two years after the historic disqualification of Maximum Security in the 145th Kentucky Derby, chief state steward Barbara Borden has gone on record with the Courier-Journal to discuss the career-defining 22 minutes during which she and her fellow stewards made their decision.

Viewing the Run for the Roses from five different camera angles, Borden, Brooks “Butch” Becraft, and Tyler Picklesimer determined that Maximum Security caused an issue near the quarter pole when he impeded the path of War of Will, who then bumped into Long Range Toddy. For the first time in the race's storied history, it was announced that the horse first across the wire would be disqualified due to interference. Borden and her fellow stewards placed Maximum Security 17th, behind Long Range Toddy, the last horse his action bothered. Preparing to make the race official, Borden turned to Becraft and Picklesimer before pressing the button.

“I said, 'This is a big thing and it's probably going to be life-changing,'” Borden told the Courier-Journal. “That was kind of dramatic at the time, I thought, but with some of the events that occurred afterward, it really wasn't an overstatement.”

The aftershocks of the stewards' decision were far-reaching. A call from Maximum Security's owners less than 30 seconds after the race went official was a prelude to the coming legal challenge. Immediately, Churchill Downs took precautions for Borden's safety; a security guard escorted her to her car after the races, but Borden remembers him backing away as she started it, as if the car might explode.

As the weeks after the Derby wore on, Borden said she received hate mail both at Churchill Downs and at her home. Churchill placed a security guard on her for the remainder of the Spring Meet.

Eventually, the stewards' decision was upheld in court due to a Kentucky law that states the stewards are responsible for “all findings of fact as to all matters occurring during and incident to the running of a race,” and “findings of fact and determination shall be final and not subject to appeal.”

“I knew when I took this job that it was going to be stressful at times,” Borden told the Courier-Journal. “It was a little more than I expected, the fallout, but it didn't deter me at all from wanting to come back. The first time we walked back in this (stewards) room after that happened was several days later. It was a little weird to walk in here, but it didn't deter me at all. We did our job. As much as we didn't come in here looking to do that that day, we did our jobs and we were proud of that.”