That guy who took the photo is the run who misplaced the starting gate - he was re-assigned there.
If this is a real legit photo, NYRA needs to re-evaluate it's standard operating procedures. This is not acceptable - stuff happens, but it is NEVER acceptable.
Is the placing judge not required to sign off on ALL photos? And it would seem stupid not to have a second signature authority required to co-sign. So's you know who to fire when this happens.
I would hoep the losing owner would sue the track.
Could be a very interesting case.