Equibase investigating scratched part of entry that won at Thistledown

Equibase is investigating a situation that occurred Tuesday at Thistledown racetrack in Ohio in which a horse that was part of an entry was listed as scratched at most data and betting sites but ran and won, the company announced late Tuesday.

The horse, Chargedwith Intent, was listed as scratched at Equibase’s official site when the race went off at 12:55 p.m., while his entrymate, Swift Punch, was listed as running, according to screen shots provided on the social-media account of Jeremy Balan, a former racing reporter who now works for a betting site. Chargedwith Intent won the six-furlong claiming race at 8-1 and paid $18. The entry was listed on the morning line at 6-1.

Swift Punch is listed on the race’s chart as a scratch by the horse’s trainer, Robert Gorham, who is the trainer of Chargedwith Intent as well.

When horses are scratched, the information is recorded by clerks in the racing office. The information is entered into a database maintained by Equibase, a company that is co-owned by a consortium of racetracks and The Jockey Club. (Equibase provides data to Daily Racing Form.) That information is then transmitted to data and wagering providers and made available on a variety of websites, from the same data source.

“Equibase is aware of the matter involving the first race at [Thistledown] racetrack today,” Equibase said in a statement, which was issued after Daily Racing Form contacted the company earlier today inquiring about the incident. “We have been in contact with our limited partner, [Thistledown racetrack], and are currently investigating the matter.”

Daily Racing Form’s page showed that Chargedwith Intent was scratched, as did other betting and data sites that receive Equibase data.

According to Patrick Cummings, president of the Thoroughbred Idea Foundation, a racing advocacy group, the simulcast feed distributed by Thistledown showed that Swift Punch was indeed scratched and that Chargedwith Intent was running. Cummings sent a letter Tuesday to the Ohio Racing Commission asking for an investigation of the incident.

The race drew a total of $88,115 in single-race bets and another $40,000 in multi-race bets. The vast majority of bets right now in the United States are going through account-wagering platforms due to the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Calls to Thistledown earlier Tuesday did not go through to the track’s switchboard.