Low Society disqualified at Aqueduct due to 'inadvertent error' on weight

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Low Society, who won Saturday’s fourth race at Aqueduct, has been disqualified from that victory and ordered unplaced by the stewards after it was discovered the 3-year-old filly carried the incorrect weight during the running of the $50,000 claiming race, according to a stewards’ ruling and the New York Racing Association.

Under the conditions of the race, Low Society should have carried 122 pounds, as she had won two races in 2024 entering Saturday’s race. Instead, she was assigned and carried 120 pounds, the weight assignment for horses who had won just once in 2024.

It is the job of racing office personnel to make sure a horse is assigned the correct weight for race. In a statement confirming the disqualification, the NYRA called it “an inadvertent error.”

According to NYRA spokesman Pat McKenna, the “NYRA racing office was alerted by a third party after the running of the race, which resulted in further review and the discovery of the error.”

Low Society is owned by Linda Rice and Bruce Golden and trained by Rice. The disqualification resulted in the forfeiture of the first-place purse of $42,900. Play Good Pay Good, trained by Rick Dutrow for Michael Dubb, is now the recognized winner of the race.

Since Low Society was ruled ineligible to compete in the race, the stewards voided the claim of Low Society made by trainer Rob Atras on behalf of owner Sheik Shakoor. The horse was returned to Rice.

The disqualification does not affect the payouts in the race as the stewards were not made aware of the horse carrying the incorrect weight until the race had been made official. Low Society returned $4.50 to win as the race favorite.

“I’m happy the stewards decided to void the claim,” Rice said. “I was very disappointed [with the disqualification]. It’s hard enough to win a race.”

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