We’ve just run the Melbourne Cup for 2014, and the favourite for the race ran last…and upon his return to the stalls collapsed and died.
I’m sure an autopsy will be performed, but even so, can a punter recover their outlay on the grounds that the horse was “obviously after the fact ill”?
IOW, no healthy horse dies after running even the Melbourne Cup. There must have been something wrong, even if not detected by a vet inspection on the morning of the race. Can punters recover their $ after such an event?
(Not a personal interest…I backed some other nags and lost the lot of my life savings…$17!!)
Horses die sometimes. I have personal knowledge of a horse that died in the starting gate - and his trainer was devastated - they had no idea there was anything wrong - and still don’t really know why.
It doesn’t happen often, but you are gambling - part of the risk is your horse will die.
I’ve only had it happen to me once - and two horses (if I recall correctly) - died (had to be put down) after a collision. There were people (presumably the trainers/owners) jumping over the rails to get onto the track to try and help.
I don’t know about your situation - as I’ve never heard about one of my horses dying after the race (nor would I have a way to find out - until recently becoming acquainted with people in the industry).
There was no refunds of money for those two incidents I am aware of that happened during the race - so I seriously doubt there would be if it happened afterwards.
You aren’t betting against the track - you are betting against other players.
If the horse came in first, and then died you’d still collect. So, if he loses and then dies you’re out of luck. As the saying goes, You pays your money and you takes your chances.
In general, if the race isn’t run, or if your horse doesn’t start, you get your stake back. But if the race is run, and the result is upheld, what happens happens and bets are paid, or not, accordingly. There is no term in the betting contract that, if the horse isn’t in form when the race starts, you get your stake back.
In the US at least, if the starting gate opens and your horse exits, no refunds. I have seen incidents where the starting gate malfunctioned and the horse’s stall gate did not open correctly - those generally get refunded.
If the horse wins and later the blood or urine test reveals a positive for a banned substance, the horse is disqualified days after the race, but no bets are refunded or cancelled. The people who bet on the second place horse that didn’t cash because of the disqualified horse are out of luck.
It’s the same in Canada–shouldn’t be surprising, since our racing is pretty much integrated with American racing. Anyway, once the race starts, and your horse gets a fair start, no refunds.
I have seen very-late scratches, where the horse throws the jockey in the process of loading and then goes for a run around the infield, and those were refunded. But once the race starts, and the horse gets a fair start, that’s it. No refunds, even if the horse dies halfway through (as I’ve had the misfortune to see a few times).
An aortic aneurysm is not uncommon in horses, and at this point there is no easy way to tell if one is developing. Hard physical exertion can cause it to blow, but I’ve known two horses to drop dead like that while not going any faster than an ambling walk.
I’m not saying that there might not be mitigating factors due to common race practices (drugs and their effects, mostly), but horses are not always as rugged as they look and some problems cannot be detected until it’s too late.
Used to go to the dog races with relatives when I was a kid. Saw all sorts of oddities. E.g., dogs that wouldn’t run. Dogs taking a bathroom break. Etc. The only incident that caused a refund (“no race”) was when a dog stopped partway on the first turn, turned back and ran straight into the pack just as it was crossing the finishing line. (Problems with the rabbit also will give a “no race” but I never saw that.)
They reviewed the film and felt that the collision affected the outcome of the race and refunded. (This lead to a rush to scan tickets thrown on the floor on the basis that maybe people who thought they had lost and thrown out their tickets.)
Dogs dying during or after the race? Oh well, stuff happens.
With horse racing, the behavior of jockeys can affect the legitimacy of a race. E.g., whipping another horse. If that caused a horse to die, then the race results might change. But not due to death, but due to the foul. After the race? Not a concern.
Agreed, there is nothing sinister in the deaths per se. People die running marathons too.
What I think the critics of horse racing are saying is that the breeding has become so narrow that thoroughbred horses are biologically vulnerable. Much as some cat and dog breeds suffer breathing and skeletal problems because of their breeders obsession.
Couple that with constant training and race horses live on a knife’s edge. We have no idea how many die away from the tracks or never even get there.
Very true - one thing some breeders try to capture is the large heat gene. Secretariat had this gene which was passed down through females from race horse Eclipse. This gene gave Secretariat a heart almost 3x as large as other horses. I don’t know what the negative effects are of having a heart that large - if any - but I wouldn’t be surprised if there were some.
I’m guessing there are refunds if something happens externally to affect the race (someone runs out on the track, earthquake opens up a crack on the track)
