The National Horseracing Authority of South Africa had adhered to all procedural requirements in the handling of the Sun Met day jockey substitutions issue that made news after certain changes had not reached participating racing jurisdictions.
The South China Morning Post published reports on Monday that indicated that as a result of changes not reaching them, the Hong Kong Jockey Club refunded punters who placed bets on four horses during Saturday’s simulcast meeting. This was due to a failure to provide information about jockey substitutes before the start of the races.
NHA CEO Vee Moodley told the Sporting Post that he had satisfied himself, after consultation with the NHA officials on duty on Met day, that all procedural obligations and requirements of the racing regulator had been fulfilled.
This included communications between the relevant trainers and replacement jockeys, the system and data input requirements, as well as advices to the relevant raceday officials, commentators and Tellytrack.
“Given the fact that all stakeholders contributed and co-operated magnificently in adhering to the demands of meeting racetimes and ensuring that the day ran smoothly, right down to items such as ordered canter downs, the oversight regarding the jockey substitutions is most regrettable. It was an overall excellent team effort given the number of runners and the fact that we hosted twelve races,” he added.
Phumelela issued a press release regarding the issue on Tuesday
