N.D. Admin. Code 69.5-02-01-18

Current through Supplement No. 394, October, 2024

Section 69.5-02-01-18 - Racing provisions

1. An association shall establish the post time for each race and the judges shall call the horses on the track at that time to prevent excessive delay after the completion of one or two scores.

2. The time between separate heats of a single race may not be less than forty minutes.

3. Horses called for a race have the exclusive right to occupy the course, and all other horses shall vacate the course as soon as possible.

4. Sulkies may only be permitted to be used in a race if they are of the conventional dual-shaft and dual-hitch type as follows:

a. They shall have two shafts that must be parallel to, and securely hitched on each side of the horse;

b. No point of hitch and no part of a shaft of a sulky may be above a horizontal level equal to the lowest point of a horse's back;

c. They must be equipped with mud guards at any race meetings at which the judges require them; and

d. They must be equipped with wheel discs approved by the commission.

5. Drivers shall wear distinguishing colors and may not be permitted to drive in a race or other public performance unless, in the opinion of the judges, they are properly dressed, their driving outfits are clean and they are well groomed, and during inclement weather conditions, they shall wear rain suits or winter suits, either of their usual distinguishing colors or made of a transparent material through which their colors can be distinguished.

6. Horses are permitted to take one or two scores before going to the post, and upon completion of the last score, the horses must be gathered by the starter and immediately moved into their appropriate starting positions behind the gate.

7. Horses may be held on the backstretch while awaiting post time, but not more than two minutes, except when delayed by an emergency.

8. If there are two tiers of horses at the start, the withdrawing of a horse that has drawn or earned a position in the front tier does not affect the position of the horses that have drawn or earned positions in the second tier, except as provided for in handicap claiming races.

9. When a horse is withdrawn from any tier, horses on the outside move in to fill the vacancy.

10. If there is only one trailer, he may start from any position in the second tier.

11. If there are more trailers than one, they shall start from inside any horse with a higher post position.

12. All races must be started with a mobile starting gate of a design approved by the board.

13. No person except the starter, his driver, and a patrol judge, shall ride in a starting gate without the permission of the judges.

14. The starting gate must be equipped with two-way communications to the judges' stand and a mechanical loudspeaker for communicating instructions to drivers and no other persons.

15. The starter shall have control of the horses from the formation of the parade until a fair start has been determined.

16. The determination of a fair start is symbolized by the word "go" announced by the starter at the starting point.

17. The horses must be brought to the starting gate as nearly one quarter of a mile [0.40 kilometers] before the start as the track will permit.

18. The starter shall cause the gate to move towards the starting point, gradually increasing the speed of the gate to maximum speed.

19. When maximum speed has been reached in the course of a start there may be no decrease, except in the case of a recall.

20. The starting point is a point that must be marked on the inside rail a distance of not less than two hundred feet [60.96 meters] from the first turn.

21. After the determination by the starter of a fair start, all the horses shall race the course, except in the case of an occurrence that in the opinion of the board of judges makes it impossible for the horses to race the course.

22. If, in the opinion of the board of judges or the starter, a horse is unmanageable or liable to cause an accident or injury to another horse or to a driver, it may be scratched by the board of judges.

23. In case of a recall:

a. A light plainly visible to the drivers must be flashed and a recall sounded;

b. If possible, the starter shall leave the wings of the starting gate open and gradually slow the speed of the gate to assist in stopping and turning the field; and

c. Drivers shall take up their horses and return, without delay, to the point where the field is gathered for starts.

24. There may be no recall after the word "go" has been given to signal a fair start.

25. The starter shall endeavor to get all horses away in position and on gait.

26. The starter shall sound a recall for the following reasons:

a. A horse starts ahead of the starting gate.

b. There is interference before the word "go" is given.

c. A horse has broken equipment, which the starter notices.

d. A horse falls before the word "go" is given.

27. The starter, at any time before the word "go" is given, may order a recall and restart the race, and if a second recall is sounded because of the same horse in the same race, that horse must be scratched.

28. The fair start pole is a pole erected at the point approximately ten feet [3.05 meters] nearer the starting point than the pole one-sixteenth of a mile [0.10 kilometers] before the start, and must be yellow in color and must protrude at least two feet [0.61 meters] above the inner rail.

29. When a horse has not reached the "fair start pole" when the word "go" is given, the starter may sound a recall.

30. If the starter fails to sound a recall when required, the judge shall cause the "inquiry" sign to be displayed immediately.

31. No horse or driver may:

a. Delay a start;

b. Pass the inside or the outside wing of the gate;

c. Come to the starting gate in the wrong position;

d. Cross over before reaching the starting point;

e. Interfere with another horse or driver during the start;

f. Fail to come up into position and on the gate;

g. Change course or position, swerve in or out, or bear in or out during any part of the race in a manner that will compel another horse to shorten its stride or cause another driver to change course, take his horse back, or pull his horse out of its stride;

h. Impede the progress of another horse or cause it to break from its gait;

i. Cross over too sharply in front of another horse or horses;

j. Crowd another horse by "putting a wheel under him";

k. Carry another horse out; or

l. Strike or hook wheels with another sulky.

32. No driver may:

a. Fail to obey the starter's instructions;

b. Willfully "back off" the starting gate after having been in position;

c. Allow another horse to pass needlessly on the inside, or commit any other act that helps another horse to improve its position;

d. Take up or slow abruptly in front of other horses to cause confusion or interference among the trailing horses;

e. Lay off a normal pace and leave a hole when it is well within the driver's horse's capacity to keep the hole closed;

f. Drive in a careless, reckless, or unsatisfactory manner;

g. Fail to set or maintain a pace comparable to the class in which the driver is racing, considering track conditions, weather, and circumstances in the race;

h. Fail to properly contest an excessively slow pace;

i. Back off from any position and subsequently come on when challenged;

j. Fail to report any interference or any other infraction that occurred during a race and was noticed by the driver;

k. Lodge a claim of foul, violation of the rules, objection, or complaint which the judges consider that is frivolous;

l. Driver a horse in a manner that prevents the driver from winning a race;

m. Driver a horse to perpetrate or aid in a fraud or corrupt practice;

n. Drive a horse in an inconsistent manner;

o. Use a whip exceeding four feet [1.22 meters] in length, plus a snapper that is longer than eight inches [203.20 millimeters] in length;

p. Use the driver's whip or crop in a brutal manner, butt end, punch, jab, or kick a horse or use a whip to interfere with or cause disturbance to any other horse or driver in a race;

q. Whip under the arch of the sulky; or

r. Strike a wheel disc with the driver's whip.

33. At the conclusion of a race, each driver shall return in his sulky to be dismissed by the board of judges or the judges' designated replacement.

34. A driver who desires to enter a claim of foul, violation of the rules, or other complaint shall notify the nearest patrol judge accordingly and shall proceed forthwith to the paddock telephone to communicate immediately with the board of judges.

35. A complaint by a driver of any foul, violation of the rules, or other misconduct during a race must be made immediately after the race to which it relates, unless the driver is prevented from doing so by an accident or injury, or other reasonable excuse.

36. Where no communication facilities to the board of judges are available, drivers desiring to lodge claims of foul, violation of the rules, or other complaints shall so indicate to the board of judges when being dismissed and, without delay, shall proceed to the judges' stand.

37. The judges may not cause the official sign to be posted until the matter of a claim of foul, violation of the rules, or other complaint has been dealt with by the board of judges.

38. If a horse that is part of an entry has been disqualified, any other horse that is part of the same entry may also be disqualified.

39. The judges may determine the extent of the disqualification in the case of a foul and may place the offending horse:

a. Behind the horses that in the judges' judgment were interfered with; or

b. Last in the field.

40. If a horse chokes or bleeds during a race, the driver of that horse is required to report that choking or bleeding to the commission or association veterinarian immediately after the race and that information must be entered into the official past performance line of that horse.

41. If in the opinion of the board of judges a driver, for any reason, is unfit or incompetent to driver or refuses to comply with the directions of the judges, or is reckless in the driver's conduct or may endanger the safety of horses or other drivers in the race, the board of judges may at any time, order, or if necessary cause, that driver to be removed and another driver substituted.

42. All broken equipment must be reported by the driver concerned to the paddock judge, who shall make an examination to verify the allegation.

43. A driver must be mounted in the driver's sulky from the start to the finish of the race or the horse the driver is driving may be disqualified.

44. After the word "go" is given, barring mishap, both feet must be kept in the stirrups until the race has been completed.

45. No horse habitually:

a. Wearing hopples may start in a race other than a qualifying race, without those hopples unless it has qualified to do so; or

b. Racing free-legged, may start in a race other than a qualifying race, wearing hopples unless it has qualified to do so.

46. No horse may be permitted to wear a head pole protruding more than four inches [101.60 millimeters] beyond its nose.

47. When a horse breaks from its gait, the driver shall:

a. Take the horse to the outside of other horses where clearance exists;

b. Properly attempt to pull the horse to its gait; and

c. Drop back from the field while on the break.

48. If there has been no violation of subsection 47, the horse may not be set back unless a competing horse on its gait is lapped on the hind quarter of the breaking horse at the finish.

49. No driver may allow the driver's horse to break for the purpose of losing a race.

50. Judges shall call out each break made and have each break duly recorded in the official race reports.

51. No major equipment changes shall be allowed after 10:00 a.m. on the day of the race.

52. The board of judges must cause to be posted or announced any major equipment changes.

N.D. Admin Code 69.5-02-01-18

Effective July 1, 1989.

General Authority: NDCC 53-06.2-04, 53-06.2-05, 53-06.2-10

Law Implemented: NDCC 53-06.2-04, 53-06.2-05, 53-06.2-10