Oaklawn Park: Horse left out of gate declared non-starter

Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., refunded all wagers on Reagan Trinity in Thursday’s first race after she was not loaded into the starting gate. She was No. 9 in a nine-horse field of fillies and mares for the $16,000 conditioned claimer at 1 1/16 miles. Reagan Trinity was 5-2 on the tote board for Hall of Fame trainer Jack Van Berg.

Larry Snyder, a steward at Oaklawn, said the incident was simply due to “human error.” Terry Walker is the starter at Oaklawn.

“No one feels worse than Terry Walker,” Snyder said. “It was just one of those things that has happened to every starter that’s been in the business a long time.”

Snyder, a former jockey, added that during his riding career, he had experienced being left out of the gate with a mount.

Reagan Trinity was declared a non-starter, according to Snyder.

Oaklawn refunded $8,400 to on-track patrons who bet on Reagan Trinity, said Jennifer Hoyt, a spokeswoman for the track. Hoyt said shortly after the incident that the amount of off-track wagers refunded was not yet available.

Oaklawn offered win, place, show, daily double, exacta, trifecta, and superfecta wagering on the first race Thursday.