Gate malfunction hinders Smokin Nitro in Steel Valley Sprint

Smokin Nitro, the ninth-place finisher in the $250,000 Steel Valley Sprint at Mahoning Valley Race Course on Monday, in all likelihood should have been declared a non-starter after only one of the gate doors to his stall in the starting gate opened.

Consistently fast, Smokin Nitro broke slowly, several lengths behind all but one runner in the 11-horse field. He never reached serious contention and was beaten 12 1/2 lengths as the 8-1 fifth choice in the betting.

A total of $283,197 was wagered on the race in the win, place, show, exacta, trifecta, superfecta, pick three, pick four, and Buckeye Pick 6 pools. If Smokin Nitro had been declared a non-starter, money wagered on him would have been refunded.

State steward Daryl Parker referred questions about the incident to the Ohio Racing Commission. Bill Crawford, the commission's executive director, declined to comment, stating that he "was still looking into what happened."

Jamie Ness, who trains Smokin Nitro, was not at Mahoning Valley for the race. Smokin Nitro was ridden by Angel Suarez.

"When Angel came back, he told my assistant that the gate only opened halfway," Ness said. "He called me, and I told him to get hold of the stewards right away. But it was too late."

The stewards called Ness and explained what happened.

"They told me a spring had broken and one of the doors didn’t open," Ness said. "They said Angel should have flagged someone down, but I asked them, 'Wasn't there an assistant starter in the gate with him?' He should have told the starter and he should have called the stewards."

Brad Hedges is the starter at Mahoning Valley.

"The stewards told me he started working to fix the gate for the next race," Ness said.

The minutes after the Steel Valley Sprint were chaotic.

Trigger Warning won the race by a nose after a stretch-long shoving match with runner-up Bobby's Wicked One. Tyler Gaffalione, the rider of runner-up Bobby's Wicked One, lodged an objection against the winner, which the stewards were reviewing.

Trigger Warning was pulled up during the gallop-out and vanned from the track with what proved a fatal injury. And, the No. 2 stall in the starting gate was broken.

"I've lost races a million different ways, and here's one more to add to the list," Ness said. "The stewards told me they were involved in an objection. I think it just got away from them.

"The horse should have been declared a non-starter. People bet money on him, and the bettors drive the game."

The good news is that Smokin Nitro, who had six wins and two seconds from nine starts prior to the Steel Valley, came out of the race unharmed.

"The horse looks fine," Ness said. "I watched the race on TV, and when he didn’t break I was wondering what happened. He always breaks."