Two winners at Clare on Saturday have been disqualified after a “clerical error” saw apprentice jockeys claim more than their country allowance in the first two races at the iconic Easter fixture.
Travis Doudle’s See Ya Later Baby, which won Race 1 as the $1.50 favourite, was one of four horses disqualified in that race after it was determined that Isaac Sit claimed 3kg instead of 2kg.
Sit’s claim at provincial meetings is 3kg, while his country claim is 2kg.
It was a similar story in Race 2, in which three horses including the winner Woodstock ($1.95) for Aaron Bain and Ned Taylor, were disqualified.
Winning jockey Matt Chadwick was incorrectly weighed out with his 2kg provincial claim.
Correct weight was declared after both races, with the error not discovered until jockeys had weighed out for Race 3.
In a statement, Racing SA said its stewards had conducted an enquiry on Tuesday and determined that seven horses had carried less weight than they should’ve.
The enquiry found that inadvertent human error had seen the Clare meeting incorrectly listed as a provincial meeting on Racing Australia, hence the system automatically applied apprentice’s provincial claims.
The statement also confirmed that prizemoney will still be paid out to connections of the affected horses, as well as those promoted into the winner’s stall.
“It was established that due to a clerical error the meeting was generated incorrectly displaying provincial claims for apprentices which resulted in the majority of apprentices claiming an allowance they were not entitled to in Races 1 and 2,” the statement said.
“Following the running of Race 2 the error was identified and the remaining races were conducted with apprentices correctly claiming their country allowances.
“On the basis that the Stewards had determined to disqualify the horses in question, it was left to Racing SA to determine whether it would exercise its right under AR 224 in relation to the prizemoney won and paid to the owner(s), jockey and trainer of a disqualified horse.
“Having considered the findings of the Stewards’ inquiry and the basis on which their position was reached, Racing SA determined that it will not withhold payment of any prizemoney from the owner(s), trainer, or apprentice of the horses disqualified by the Stewards.
“As a result, the owners, trainers and jockeys of horses who were disqualified will be paid prizemoney by Racing SA based on the original placings in the next stakemoney payment cycle.
“Racing SA reached this position in consideration of all the circumstances, including that the error in the allowances claims was not attributable to the apprentices, nor the owners and trainers of the horses, who all acted in good faith.
“Racing SA understands the unacceptable impact this inadvertent error has had on affected parties and thanks them for their patience during the subsequent period of investigation.
“Racing SA has undertaken a review of the systems and processes currently in place, and immediate process improvements have been implemented to ensure this error is avoided in the future.”
