Investigation Into Yarmouth Wrong Runner

The British Horseracing Authority is proceeding with an inquiry into an incident at Yarmouth on Thursday that saw a wrong horse run in, and win, the card's opening race.

A filly believed to be the 2-year-old Mandarin Princess (GB) (Vale of York {Ire}) caused a 50-1 upset when coming home first from the 4-6 favourite Fyre Cay (Ire) (Red Jazz) in the six furlong novice auction race (video). That filly was identified later at the horse sampling unit as Mandarin Princess's 3-year-old stablemate Millie's Kiss (GB) (Aussie Rules), who had been due to run in the fourth race, a one mile one furlong handicap, for trainer Charlie McBride. Because the result had already been declared official, Yarmouth stewards could not amend it and had to refer it to the British Horseracing Authority.

BHA Chief Executive Nick Rust released a statement on Friday that read in full, “The BHA is progressing the investigation regarding Mandarin Princess following the incident at Yarmouth yesterday. We are gathering the full facts from the racecourse, including a transcript of the stewards enquiry and an additional report from the stewards. This will then determine how this matter is progressed, including potentially lodging an objection to the result and any appropriate disciplinary charges against the participants involved. Any such action will be considered by the Disciplinary Panel.”

“The rules do not provide for the stewards on the day to disqualify the horse as the “weighed in” announcement had been made and the result declared official before the issue had been detected. As such the stewards were correct to refer the matter to the BHA's head office so that the appropriate follow-up enquiries and procedures can be followed, including conducting an analysis of the betting on the race and awaiting the results of the analysis of the post-race sample. We understand why people were calling for the horse to be disqualified on the day, however this would not be appropriate in the absence of all the information required to make a properly informed decision about the situation as a whole.

“Regarding the timing of an announcement on the racecourse, other events on the day meant that the stewards were unable to conclude their enquiries into the incident until after the fourth race, with an announcement made as soon as possible after the following race. However, we are aware of the need to keep racegoers informed with accurate information and we'll consider this as part of our wash-up from the incident.

“While it is the responsibility of the trainer to ensure that the correct horse takes part in the race, as the regulator we take overall responsibility for the running of a raceday, which is why it falls to us to resolve this specific matter. I have taken steps to apologise to the betting industry for any additional costs and operational issues incurred as a result, and I would also like to apologise to any betting customer who has been adversely affected. We also appreciate the impact on connections of other horses involved on the day, though in the fullness of the time the steps that we take will likely result in those connections receiving the correct rewards from the race.

“We will also now take steps to see what can be done, more generally, to minimise the possibilities of an issue such as this occurring again. It is a risk that we have considered in the past but which has been identified as minimal, and indeed in the 18 years since we introduced the microchipping of horses this is the first time that such an incident has occurred. Potential solutions to reduce the small risk of this happening even further could come at a significant cost to the industry, and so we must determine an acceptable balance of risk and costs. This will be treated as a priority and we'll provide an update on this matter as soon as we are able.”

McBride said the incident was “a complete accident” and he said he accepts full responsibility.

“There was no collusion and no ulterior motive,” he said. “There is obviously no excuse for not recognising it was the wrong horse. I know them both inside out and have ridden both horses. I expect I will get fined, but it was a human error–as simple as that.”

Explaining the incident further, he said, “I was waiting for the saddle at 1 p.m. in the weighing room. John [Egan] weighed in one pound over and was in the sauna, and that was why we were late trying to get the saddle. We put the saddle on in two minutes flat without even thinking it was the wrong horse. She looked sound and then we went straight to the parade ring, where I had 10 or 12 of her owners chatting away to me in the parade ring. I never even watched the filly go round [the parade ring] and then watched her canter away. When she won, everyone was euphoric and were hugging and kissing and chatting away to me. Even then it still didn't occur to me it was the wrong filly. I was too engrossed with the owners, the press, and the presentation of the trophy. Even her owners, who see her every week, didn't even notice it was the wrong horse and were patting the filly in the winner's enclosure. When you're in a mad rush like that, you go on auto-pilot–you go through the motions.”