A statement issued Friday by the New York State Gaming Commission aimed at defusing the controversy over a disqualification in last weekend's Great White Way Stakes at Aqueduct may have instead fueled the debate.
The statement, sent to various news organizations by gaming commission spokesman Brad Maione and first reported by Bill Finley of Thoroughbred Daily News, included a narrative describing the actions of New York stewards Braulio Baeza Jr., Juan Dominguez and Samantha Randazzo in the immediate aftermath of Dec. 16 race, as well as photos taken from the race video.
"Upon the conclusion of the 9th race at Aqueduct ... the stewards commenced an inquiry entirely on their own volition," the statement said.
"The three stewards’ attention was focused on the field as it arrived near the quarter-pole, where several horses converged and were in close contact," it continued. "As evident in the below/attached screenshots, horse Brick Ambush (#12), ridden by Junior Alvarado, came up on three horses that were crowded together – Antonio of Venice (#1) ridden by Manuel Franco, The Big Torpedo (#7) ridden by Javier Castellano, and Solo’s Fury (#11), ridden by Jose Lezcano – and made disruptive contact."
"During their 12-minute review, the stewards examined six separate camera views of the area of concern and conducted telephone interviews with Franco, Castellano, Lezcano and Alvarado.
"After review of the footage and interviews with the jockeys, the stewards unanimously concluded that Alvarado’s movement of Brick Ambush to the inside at quarter-pole pole caused a chain reaction that impacted the race. Accordingly, the stewards disqualified Brick Ambush for interference."
But one of six photos attached to the statement, showing a key moment in the race moments before the contact, incorrectly identified Alvarado as the rider of The Big Torpedo, Finley reported. A corrected photo and correction were sent shortly after the error was pointed out, he said.
Far from resolving the matter, the corrected photo appeared to show that Alvarado and Brick Ambush were free of trouble while racing outside and clear of the horses that encountered trouble in the incident, Finley reported.
A furor erupted after the stewards decision that has yet to recede, with many bettors and racing fans contending that the stewards disqualified the wrong horse and that race winner Antonio of Venice had initiated the contact.
The gaming commission statement noted, however, that Alvarado accepted a three-day suspension for careless riding that was imposed after a review of the race with the four jockeys the following day.
“The following morning, all four jockeys were required to participate in a film review of the race and discussed the event with all three stewards,” it said. “At the conclusion of the review, state steward Baeza issued a three-day careless riding suspension to Mr. Alvarado, to be effective January 1 through January 5, 2024. Mr. Alvarado accepted the penalty and declined to appeal.”
