Quote:
Originally Posted by ThreeHorseEntry
McNair and some of the other top drivers have been fined for getting a slow pace to hold up and win a race. I've seen him fined for this but couldn't find it in the archives. This is one with Roy. As I recall, he won this race.
Do you know what criteria they are using to level these fines? What's the difference of a good drive vs. a violation?
ROY,LOUIS-PHILIPPE
AGCO - FAILING TO SET A PACE COMPARABLE TO CLASS
Commission Rule Number : 22.05.01(K)
Date Issued : 14-Jan-2022
Total Due : 200.00
Violation Occurred : Race 2 at WOODBINE MOHAWK PARK on 14-Jan-2022 horse STORMY HALL GB
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Here is a few more of those that I found in the fines & suspensions at the Standardbred Canada site.
MACDONALD,BRETT A
AGCO - FAILING TO SET A PACE COMPARABLE TO CLASS
Commission Rule Number : 22.05.01(K)
Date Issued : 23-Apr-2022
Total Due : 200.00
Violation Occurred : Race 4 at WOODBINE MOHAWK PARK on 23-Apr-2022
Called the driver of # 9 Twin B Heart Throb, Brett Macdonald, regarding the
2nd ¼ in 31 seconds. Fractions were 26.4, 57.4, 126.4, 153.2. Violation AGCO
Standardbred Rule 22.05.01(k) failing to set a pace comparable to the class. $200
monetary penalty. Ruling 1687846
THERRES,ROD
BC - SLOW QUARTER
FAILING TO MAINTAIN A PACE COMPARABLE TO WHICH THE CALIBRE OF HORSES IN THE RACE
ARE CAPABLE OF, RESULTING IN AN EXCESSIVELY SLOW QUARTER OR ANY OTHER DISTANCE
Commission Rule Number : 248 (1) (L)
Date Issued : 10-Mar-2022
Total Due : 300.00
Violation Occurred : Race 5 at FRASER DOWNS on 07-Mar-2022 horse ROCKIN MYSTERY
HENRIKSEN,DAGFIN E
AGCO - FAILING TO SET A PACE COMPARABLE TO CLASS
Commission Rule Number : 22.05.01 (K)
Date Issued : 28-Feb-2022
Total Due : 200.00
Violation Occurred : Race 8 at WOODBINE MOHAWK PARK on 28-Feb-2022 horse PERFETTO
That $200 fine is meaningless. The connections of the winning horse would be most willing to pay the fine for the driver for a major share of the purse money any day any time.
Back in the day at Blue Bonnets things got so worse with the slow pace, that they started to DQ the front runner if he cuts slow fractions even if the horse was the favorite. You could tell from the mumblings in the crowds after a couple of DQs that all was not well for the racetrack. There was a such a hue and cry from indignant fans and they even threatened to boycott the track if they continued with the DQing. The track got the message and they stopped doing what they were doing.
About the criteria the judges are using to fine the driver can best be seen in the Bret MacDonald's case.
The fractions which are all interrelated were the following for the race
26.4--57.4--1:26.4--1:53.2
The judges cited the 31 second 2nd qtr as the culprit and hence the fine for the slow pace. What the judges don't understand is that the fractions in a race is all interrelated as I mentioned before.
Hypothetically speaking I ask the judges if the 2nd qtr had gone 2 secs faster ie 55.4 would the driver still have been fined or not because with a 55.4 half then the 3rd qtr would have been a slow 31 secs.
I have been a keen and avid student of pace for the last 30 years and I still don't have all the answers.
I have learned to live with the slow miles as a matter of reality and I suggest you do the same.
