'We do owe an apology' - runner disqualified after stewards shown wrong race

Officials in New Mexico have apologised to bettors for disqualifying a horse at Sunland Park following an inquiry when footage of a different race was apparently viewed.

The error came to light at a quarterhorse meeting on March 3 and revolved around the decision to demote A Separate Star, who finished second over two furlongs but was placed fourth.

A Separate Star ran straight and true in the claiming race but reports from an unnamed source at the track suggest stewards may have been shown the head-on replay of the previous race, in which the horse breaking from the same stall veered into an opponent coming out of the gate. No inquiry was held after that incident because the culprit finished out of the places.

A new inquiry will be held on March 9 and there seems little doubt the result will be amended to the original finishing order, with the prize-money redistributed accordingly, but that will be cold comfort to those who backed A Separate Star.

The New Mexico Racing Commission's executive director Izzy Trejo took the unusual step of issuing a public apology.

Trejo told the Paulick Report: "We want to apologise to the people who put their hard-earned money on this race. These are good stewards and I applaud them for being honest and admitting to the error immediately after it happened. They took the blame from the get-go. Despite that, we do owe an apology to the wagering public that bet on this race."

No statement was made at the time the error was discovered and the commission says it will not comment on the cause of the mistake until after the second inquiry.

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