Battery problem behind premature opening of starting gate

The snafu that led to a “no contest” declaration of the fifth race on the Monday opening-day card at Kentucky Downs was due to faulty batteries supplying power to the starting gate, according to Kentucky chief steward Barbara Borden.

Kentucky Downs officials on Wednesday issued a release from Borden explaining what occurred. In a separate conversation, she said a test conducted afterward showed the batteries “were new but had somehow run down.” Starter Scott Jordan and his crew were absolved of blame.

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With 12 maidens scheduled to race, the gates suddenly sprung open with two horses still to load and several more badly compromised by the premature start. Jordan was helping behind the gate with the load when the doors flew open.

With the batteries replaced afterward, there were no further mishaps Monday nor throughout the second card of the six-day meet Wednesday.

“It was a freak thing,” Borden said. “It has nothing to do with the cord, the button, or anything. It was strictly a battery issue.”

Hundreds of thousands of dollars in mutuel handle had to be refunded. Of those who actually broke from the gate and raced to the finish, Royal Prince, trained by Brad Cox, was easily best, although obviously the race does not count in any way.

Following consultation with the Kentucky Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, Kentucky Downs agreed to pay $5,000 to the owners of all 12 horses and $500 to all 12 jockeys.

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Tom’s d’Etat to breeze

Tom’s d’Etat, among the leading candidates for the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland, is scheduled to breeze this weekend at his Churchill Downs base in what will be his first work toward the Nov. 7 race since he finished a troubled third in the Aug. 1 Whitney at Saratoga.

Trainer Al Stall Jr. said Tom’s d’Etat will have six or seven breezes leading into the Classic. “He’s training every day like ‘We the people,’ ” said Stall. “I’m very happy with him.”

No track records at meet

With extraordinarily swift clockings having been recorded during the first two cards of the Runhappy meet, Kentucky Downs officials said none of the times will count as track records. At least five would-be records were set during the first two cards, including the 1:32.21 run by Flavius in the Tourist Mile on Monday.

A track release said no clockings during this meet will be recognized as records because the track is testing Equibase’s Gmax tracking and timing system, which utilizes GPS technology.