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Disqualification overturned
A protest filed on behalf of the connections of No Act over a disqualification from second to third following the running of the first race on Dec. 6 has been upheld following a review of the original decision by former steward Bernie Hettel, acting on behalf of Gulfstream Park.
No Act finished second behind Lord Chelsie, with the 3-5 favorite For All Who Conga checking home third in the roughly run $10,000 claiming dash. Although it appeared Lord Chelsie created all the trouble by drifting steadily through late stretch, the stewards disqualified both the first- and second-place finishers, awarding For All Who Conga the win.
Ron Spatz, the trainer of No Act, filed a protest the following day on behalf of his owner Charlotte Gershaw. In Florida, all such protests are arbitrated by a representative of the host track. To decide the protest, Gulfstream Park officials reached out to Hettel, who had served as a steward here several years ago but no longer works for the track.
“We wanted to find somebody who had no connection to the track or would be biased in any way towards any of the parties involved,” said Gulfstream’s president and general manager Tim Ritvo.
After reviewing the films of the race, Hettel overturned the stewards original decision, placing No Act first, For All Who Conga second, and Lord Chelsie third.
“I disagree with the extent of the disqualification,” Hettel wrote in his decision. “The disqualification of Lord Chelsie was correctly made, however the disqualification of No Act was incorrect. No Act and For All Who Conga brushed as they exchanged glancing contact, but jockey David Cohen aboard Lord Chelsie permitted his mount to drift, interfering with both horses.”
Spatz said the protest was the first he has filed in more than 30 years on the racetrack.
“I disagreed with the stewards’ decision when I originally watched the race and more so after re-watching the tapes several hours later, so I filed a protest the next day,” said Spatz. “Naturally I’m very happy the arbitrator saw things the same way, overturned the decision, and awarded us the win.”