Lone Star Park: Mayfield takes no contest in stride

Late Saturday afternoon at Lone Star Park, Randy Mayfield was high-fiving jockey Alfredo Sigala in the winner’s circle, celebrating the performance of Delmersmiracle, a filly he trained to an apparent first-out victory at 25-1 odds for owner/breeder Don Milligan in the day’s last race.

Although track stewards had begun an inquiry into the race due to a number of horses breaking poorly, Mayfield said he “was counting my money” after wagering $200 on her.

Then announcer John Lies delivered the news. The race, he said, would be declared a no contest due to a gate malfunction that hindered a portion of the field – meaning all bets on the race would be refunded and no purses distributed.

“I got a vet bill out of it – that’s it,” Mayfield quipped, referring to the standard pre-race treatment that horses receive.

As bad beats go, they don’t come much worse. But Mayfield was taking the stewards decision in stride Tuesday morning, taking pride in how well Delmersmiracle performed. He was excited regarding her return in another Texas-bred maiden race.

In fairness to those that raced behind her, at least several lost all chance at the break. The cause of the gate malfunction was difficult to determine on video replay.