Pennsylvania commission reverses Parx disqualification

The Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission has reversed a decision by the stewards at Parx racetrack to disqualify Rebecca’s Surprise from first to second for causing interference in the stretch of an allowance race on Nov. 30 of last year.

The commission issued the ruling to reverse the decision on Tuesday, nearly six months after the commission reviewed videotape of the race during an administrative hearing. In the ruling, the commission said the stewards erred when they determined that Rebecca’s Surprise had impeded the path of Littlemissperfect, the horse who crossed the wire second in the $52,000 race.

“The videotape of the race very clearly depicts the finish of the race and after review by the State Horse Racing Commission, the Commission determines that the lateral movement of ‘Rebecca’s Surprise’ to the right did not impact the ultimate result of the race nor did ‘Rebecca’s Surprise’ impede, intimidate, or interfere with ‘Little Miss Perfect’ [sic],” the ruling states.

Commissions very rarely overturn decisions of stewards for interpretations of an incident on the racetrack.

Rebecca’s Surprise is owned by Top Notch Racing and she is trained by Michael M. Moore. She was ridden in the Nov. 30 race by Roberto J. Rosado. The first-place purse in the race was $31,200, compared to $10,400 for second.