Regulation 30, Horse Racing Page 45
(Rev. 09/18)
parade shall not exceed 12 minutes, unless otherwise ordered by the board of stewards. It shall be the duty
of the board of stewards to ensure that the horses arrive at the starting gate as near to post time as possible.
2. After the horses enter the track, no jockey may dismount nor entrust his or her horse to the care of
an attendant unless an accident occurred to the jockey, the horse or the equipment, and the starter has
given prior consent. In case of an accident to a jockey, horse, or equipment or during any other delay, the
board of stewards or starter may permit the jockeys to dismount and their horses may be attended by
others. After the horses enter the track, only the jockey, an assistant starter, the state veterinarian, the
racing veterinarian or an outrider or pony rider may touch the horse before the start of the race.
3. If a jockey is seriously injured on the way to the post, the horse shall be returned to the paddock
and a replacement jockey obtained.
4. After passing the board of stewards’ stand in parade, the horses may break formation and proceed
to the post in any manner unless otherwise directed by the board of stewards. Once at the post, the horses
shall be started without unnecessary delay.
5. Horses shall arrive at the starting post in post position order.
6. The horse must carry its assigned weight from paddock to post and from post to finish.
7. No person shall willfully delay the arrival of a horse at the post.
8. The starter shall load horses into the starting gate in any order deemed necessary to ensure a safe
and fair start. Only the jockey, the racing veterinarian, the starter or an assistant starter shall handle a horse.
30.386 Post to finish.
1. The start.
(a) The starter is responsible for assuring that each participant receives a fair start.
(b) If any regularly carded horse has been excused from a race, all horses must be moved up in the
order of post positions unless the association has specifically stated otherwise in its book on stakes and
conditions.
(c) When the starter dispatches the field, if any door at the front of the starting gate stalls does not
open properly due to a mechanical failure or malfunction or if any action by any starting personnel directly
cause a horse to receive an unfair start, the board of stewards may declare such a horse a non-starter.
(d) If a horse, not scratched prior to the start, is not in the starting gate stall when the field is dispatched
by the starter and is thereby left, the horse shall be declared a non-starter by the board of stewards.
(e) Should an accident or malfunction of the starting gate, or other unforeseeable event compromise
the fairness of the race or the safety of race participants, the board of stewards may declare individual
horses to be non-starters, exclude individual horses from one or more pari-mutuel pools or declare a “no
contest” and refund all wagers except as otherwise provided in the rules involving multi-race wagers.
2. Interference, jostling or striking.
(a) A jockey shall not ride carelessly or willfully so as to permit his or her mount to interfere with, impede
or intimidate any other horse in the race.
(b) A jockey shall not carelessly or willfully jostle, strike or touch another jockey or another jockey’s
horse or equipment.
(c) A jockey shall not unnecessarily cause his or her horse to shorten its stride so as to give the
appearance of having suffered a foul.
3. Maintaining a straight course.
(a) When the way is clear in a race, a horse may be ridden to any part of the course, but if any horse
swerves, or is ridden to either side, so as to interfere with, impede or intimidate any other horse, it is a foul.
(b) In a straightaway race, every horse must maintain position as nearly as possible in the lane in
which it starts.
(c) An offending horse may be disqualified if, in the opinion of the board of stewards, a foul altered the
finish of the race, regardless of whether the foul was accidental, willful or the result of careless riding.
(d) If the board of stewards determines a foul was intentional, or due to careless riding, they may fine
or suspend the guilty jockey.
4. Disqualification.
(a) When the board of stewards determines that a horse shall be disqualified for interference, they may
place the offending horse behind such horses as in their judgment it interfered with, or they may place it
last.
(b) If a horse is disqualified in accordance with these regulations, any horse or horses with which it is
coupled as an entry may also be disqualified.