The seemingly endless list of shoe changes on our daily changes schedule recently for local racing has a feasible explanation, and trainers are not necessarily experimenting with equipment.
Punters may be puzzled by the reams of shoe changes on the cards (particularly in PE). But a shortcoming in the system is being circumvented by publishing actual original declarations as changes. Raf Sheik, manager of the National Racing Bureau in Durban explained:
“With the new shoeing declaration rule, a full explanation is needed of how the horse is shod especially where front and back shoes differ. In PE many horses race “Alumites Front On, Unshod behind”, thus the reason for the number of changes being reflected in that centre, as you enquired,” he said.
Sheik went on to add that these were not ‘really changes’, as currently the official publications could not display front & back shoes. The NRB are thus displaying these in the Card Changes Report. On 1 August 2013 the National Horseracing Authority introduced updated policy on Shoeing Regulations and Declarations.
The basic categories of shoes is indicated as follows:
• Alumites (A)
• Steels (S)
• Unshod ( )
This implies that the horse is equipped as such on all four hooves. Anything else has to be declared with a FULL explanation of how the horse is shod, especially where front and back shoes differ.
Those codes will be:
• Alumites in front (a)
• Steels in front (s)
• Plastic (Y)
• Surgical (L)
Bar shoes are restricted to a normal straight bar or slight round bar. Anything else would be considered a surgical shoe. The Trainer is required to declare the bar shoes AND what they are made of i.e. alumite or steel. The old “T” code thus falls away. An additional declaration of how the horse is shod behind must accompany the above declarations.
It is not necessary to declare wedges, pads, leg savers, grass tips or ¾ shoes, provided they fall within the guidelines of the Rules. Trainers were reminded that horses racing in surgical shoes have to be passed to race in them. This implies that the horse has to be presented to the NHA veterinarians and galloped with the shoes in place. These shoes include, but are not limited to, Combi Pads, Easywalkers, diagonal bars, heart bars, Z bars and any other modification. The horse then has to race like that until permission is granted to remove the surgical shoes, which may require a further gallop.
Trainers have been requested to consult with the NHA veterinarians should there be any doubt as to whether a shoe is classified as surgical or not, prior to arriving at the racecourse with a horse shod with shoes that may be considered surgical. If a horse is presented to race incorrectly shod, it shall be scratched from the race unless the course farrier is able to replace the shoes to correspond with the declaration.
The Trainer shall be liable for the cost of the shoes as well as be fined for presenting a horse incorrectly shod. (There is NO guarantee that the course farrier will have the correct shoes available or that the horse will stand to be reshod. In such cases, the horse shall be scratched). Let’s hope that they can rewrite the programme so that the technology can support the welcome progress in the transparency of the rules.
