Race 2 at Saratoga on Sunday ended with controversy after the wrong jockey was listed as the rider of 15-1 winner Chief of Peace. Ricardo Santana Jr. was listed to ride the Miguel Clement-trained 2-year-old in the $115,000 maiden special weight event going 1 1/16 miles on the inner turf. However, it was Javier Castellano who guided Bach Stables’ son of Munnings to the finish line.
It was not immediately known if there was a rider change or if Santana’s name was erroneously listed as the rider.
Prior to the race, Equibase’s online Today’s Race Day Changes for Saratoga had not listed a jockey change for Chief of Peace, but the change later appeared with a reported time of 2:38 p.m. (ET)–48 minutes after the race went off at 1:51. Results of the race posted on the New York Racing Association’s website for Saratoga also list Santana as the winning rider of Chief of Peace.
On the Saratoga Live broadcast, a graphic displayed during the post parade listed Santana as the jockey of Chief of Peace, but Castellano was clearly shown aboard the eventual winner.
The discrepancy caused confusion among Andy Serling, Greg Wolf and Richard Migliore, the Saratoga Live TV crew.
Wolf initially said it was Santana aboard the winner, but moments later said there was a jockey change to Castellano. He then added, “I have Santana, where do you guys see this?”
Serling responded that someone in his ear told him it was Castellano.
Wolf then said, “They have it wrong here; they have it wrong in the changes.”
Criticism of the error from bettors and fans spread across social media, with many saying Chief of Peace should have only been eligible to run for purse money, while others questioned how such a mistake could happen.
Taken from the Paulickreport.com
