'How has it been allowed to happen?' - trainers blast Brighton farce as admin fiasco leads to four non-runners in field of six

An administrative error by the BHA and Weatherbys which meant four runners from a field of six were withdrawn from a handicap less than 45 minutes before the start at Brighton on Friday has been slammed by trainers.

Alice Haynes and John Gallagher spoke of their frustration after respective runners Vitesse Du Son and Rivas Rob Roy were discovered to be ineligible at 3.47pm for the mile handicap staged at 4.30. 

The handicap was for horses rated between 46 and 65 and for those who had not won more than two races. The four ineligible runners had all won at least three races, including Gallagher’s Rivas Rob Roy, who is a nine-time winner. 

Roscioli, the lesser-fancied 3-1 chance, beat 1-4 favourite Girl Inthe Picture in what became a match race.

A  “glitch” in Weatherbys’ system did not detect the four horses were ineligible while the trainers, who took some responsibility for failing to see the conditions, said the race title and Weatherbys’ system did not make it clear.

The BHA and Weatherbys issued a joint apology and said they would consider providing compensation for entry fees and transport costs for the affected horses, while Brighton said it would make a "goodwill payment" to the owners and jockeys.

The late withdrawal was especially frustrating for Haynes, who had no other runners on Friday, as it came just six days after her 6-1 favourite for the Epsom Dash, Live In The Moment, was caught up in a controversial stalls incident. The gates momentarily remained shut for four runners as the race started including Live In The Moment, who was deemed a runner and finished 17th.

Alice Haynes: trainer of Vitesse Du Son, one of four Brighton non-runners

"Here we are again," she said. "The BHA have phoned me and apologised, but I wonder how has it been allowed to get this far?

"You've gone to the NQ [not qualified] stage of entries, the race title didn't say 'confined' – I know it says it in the conditions and I suppose the trainers are partly to blame – but how has it got to an hour before the race before they’ve realised the horses are still ineligible to run."

She added: "There's just not enough support for trainers and everyone else. As I said last Saturday, if the trainers do something wrong we get fined straight away but when the BHA do something wrong, they say sorry and get away with it. It's just one thing after another.” 

Gallagher fancied his 4-1 chance Rivas Rob Roy before he was withdrawn and said the incident which led to a match race made the sport look poor.

The Oxfordshire-based trainer said: "It's not doing racing any favours. I know the trainers have to take a bit of flak for not reading the conditions but normally when you get confined races it comes up bold and clear – we see that. There was obviously nothing here because four of us missed it and that's what Weatherbys are there for. They jump on you if you're wrong on flu jabs and they should've been there for us – it’s not good enough.

“There's a lot of owners and trainers who have come down for the day, and a lot of people will be out of pocket. It's really harsh – just no good – and it's been a rubbish day.”

Shaun Parker, the BHA's head of stewarding and chief steward on the day, called the incident "very unfortunate" and said the BHA and Weatherbys had begun investigating what they described as a glitch.

Read this next:

'They're 25 lengths behind now!' - outsider storms to wide-margin win in bizarre Longchamp race 

'The stewards are going to brush this under the carpet and the rules need to change' - trainer blasts Dash debacle 

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