Equibase issues new chart for last year's controversial Parx Oaks

Equibase, the racing industry’s data collection agency, has issued a new chart for the 2016 Parx Oaks that declares the second-place finisher as the sole winner of the race while also giving the first two finishers credit for the win, in deference to an unprecedented ruling by Pennsylvania regulators.

Equibase reissued the chart on Monday with a footnote explaining the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission’s decision to declare both Miss Inclusive, the winner, and Eighth Wonder, the second-place finisher, as co-winners. However, the official chart designates Eighth Wonder as the sole winner, even though the race records for both horses show a win for the May 7 race, which had a $100,500 purse.

In a statement that served as a shot over the bow to regulators, Equibase president Jason Wilson said the ruling by the commission “has introduced a level of inconsistency to the generally accepted rulings of racing that has the potential to corrupt” the integrity of Equibase’s data. Nevertheless, Equibase will allow both horses to be listed as winners in their race records, Wilson said.

“While we have significant concerns about the commission’s action in this matter, Equibase has reported the result of the 2016 Parx Oaks in line with its decision,” Wilson said.

A footnote added to the chart includes information that both horses would be treated as winners in their race records due to the racing commission’s ruling.

Miss Inclusive, trained and co-owned by John Servis, was initially disqualified from the Oaks and placed last due to a positive test for the regulated medication clenbuterol. However, Servis appealed the ruling, arguing that the concentration of the medication was below the recommended testing limits for the state’s lab.

In mid-May, the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission issued an amended ruling stating that Miss Inclusive and Eighth Wonder would both be treated as co-winners of the race, though Miss Inclusive would not receive any purse earnings for the race. The amended ruling was issued after the commission reached a settlement with Servis on his appeal.

Both horses will now ostensibly be eligible to be designated as black-type winners of the race, but the point was moot in the case of Eighth Wonder, who had already earned black type for a stakes win prior to the race and then won a minor stakes at Parx after the Parx Oaks. Miss Inclusive, however, has never won a stakes race, though her race record shows a win in the Oaks.

“Black type” refers to a designation in sale catalogs indicating that a horse has won or placed in a stakes race. Breeding values of female horses are enhanced by a black-type designation.