What are the rules for a horse breaking through the gate early?

[Immortal6]

In the 6th at Belmont today it appeared to me the :1: broke through the gate a fraction early and was held by the starter resulting in a disaterous start taking him out of the race. If someone could post the head on of the start I would appreciate it as they only showed it on replay once. I had the :1: in an exacta but was not refunded so I'm a little biased.

I've seen a horse break through, win, and get DQ'd and then on a race like today's, there is no DQ. Would just like a rules clarification from someone who knows.

If the replay is posted and the :1: horse didn't break through early like I thought, I'm still interested in learning the particular rules surrounding this. Thanks all.

[SharpCat]

Here you go. When the gate pops you see the #1 move his head quickly counter clockwise and possibly make contact with the right side of the gate. Once he stops moving his head he does precede to break. Nothing going on from the starter as far as holding the horse. Just a case of bad luck if you have the #1.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJ6tJerjI0I

[ZippyChippy423]

It appeared as though the 1 horse broke a tad late definately not early. In any event if the horse was good enough this obstacle could have been easily overcome.

[Immortal6]

It appeared as though the 1 horse broke a tad late definately not early. In any event if the horse was good enough this obstacle could have been easily overcome.

I'm not complaining about the outcome, bad bet on my part... the replay I saw looked like he broke early which was wrong. My question still stands, if a horse breaks through the gate early regardless of finish is the horse supposed to be ruled a non starter? Or does it only apply to horses that were itm and affected wagering payouts?

I remember another race that occurred recently at (I believe) a NYRA track where the horse broke through a fraction early and won but was declared a non starter, name was Tequila something....

[jay68802]

In the case you are talking about, the horse will be declared a non-starter. If the horse breaks through the gate and no other horses start, the its up to Cheech and Chong if the horse runs or not.

[Zman179]

It happened today at Parx. Horse broke through the gate slightly before the gates all opened for all the other horses and he was declared a non-starter.

[bobphilo]

It happened today at Parx. Horse broke through the gate slightly before the gates all opened for all the other horses and he was declared a non-starter.

The rule is that he must be examined by the vet who decides whether he is fit to run. We have been discussing this on this thread and my view is that, if he is not injured, it only is a disqualifying situation if he has run off and run his race before the real race begins. Gates are designed to give with not too much pressure from the horse to make it virtual impossibility of a horse so injuring itself. Tracks do not like to give back money bet on these horses if they injure themselves and are declared non-starters.
A study should be done as to whether such horses should be DQed or not bet but they must distinguish between horses that breakthrough and run off and those that don't. Two different situations.

[Zman179]

The rule is that he must be examined by the vet who decides whether he is fit to run. We have been discussing this on this thread and my view is that, if he is not injured, it only is a disqualifying situation if he has run off and run his race before the real race begins. Gates are designed to give with not too much pressure from the horse to make it virtual impossibility of a horse so injuring itself. Tracks do not like to give back money bet on these horses if they injure themselves and are declared non-starters.
A study should be done as to whether such horses should be DQed or not bet but they must distinguish between horses that breakthrough and run off and those that don't. Two different situations.

But that only comes into account if one horse breaks through the gate and all the others are still standing in line.
What happened at Parx was that the horse broke through the gate and then a fraction later all of the other gates opened and they started to run. Unfortunately this country doesn’t have a “false start” provision like in Europe.

[bobphilo]

But that only comes into account if one horse breaks through the gate and all the others are still standing in line.
What happened at Parx was that the horse broke through the gate and then a fraction later all of the other gates opened and they started to run. Unfortunately this country doesn’t have a “false start” provision like in Europe.

I think a couple of others on this thread posted answers of what would happen in that case. I sounds reasonable that it would be declared a non-starter. Can you imagine the uproar that would happen if it beat the heavy favorite by a nose?
However, I don't know the exact rule so I advise you to contact the local racing administration for their rules on the matter.