Advertisement

Disqualification furore points to rule change need

Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
0

THE Diamond Coast incident has illustrated a pressing need for racing management to propose an amendment to the rules so that punters are never again the innocent victims of a jockey weighing-in light. Quite simply, the disqualification of Diamond Coast unwittingly broke the first and most fundamental of all gambling tenets - if you cannot win, you cannot lose.

As the Rules of Racing currently stand, punters who backed Diamond Coast could never win, given that jockey Damien Oliver weighed-in 1.2 pounds light after finishing first past the post in the seventh event at Sha Tin on Saturday night.

If Diamond Coast lost, so did his backers. But when he won, they also lost because he weighed-in light and was duly disqualified. So, with no provision for a refund built into the rules, punters could only lose and never win. Now, if malpractice is discovered that is quite a different thing. The horse should be disqualified and whoever is responsible for the wrongdoing has to be brought to book.

No money can be refunded to the betting public as the clear inference would be that a jockey weighed-in light as part of betting plot. But that wasn't the case whatsoever last Saturday night. The race-meeting stewards were satisfied that there was no dishonest intent on the part of Oliver. Similarly, trainer Neville Begg, himself a complete professional, had nothing to do with the horse weighing-in light. Given the obvious and total absence of dishonest intent, the race-meeting stewards fined no-one.

No-one, that is, except the betting public who were punished to the tune of some $5.5 million in successful win and place bets on this 5.9-1 chance disappearing down the plughole through no fault of the punters. Throw in the successful quinella and tierce wagers centred on Diamond Coast and the figure is probably nearer $10 million. And all this with no chance of winning.

Clearly this points to an urgent need for a revision of the rules. Specifically the relevant ruling should empower the race-meeting stewards to refund punters' stake money when a horse weighs-in light, in circumstances similar to Diamond Coast - i.e. where there is no dishonest intent. You see, Hong Kong is a unique place when it comes to punting on the horses.

Advertisement