Ohio Administrative Code › Title 3769 - State Racing Commission › Chapter 3769-14 - Permit Holders and Officials › Section 3769-14-41 - Duties of officials

Current through all regulations passed and filed through July 1, 2024
(A) It shall be the duty of the judges to:
(1) Notify in writing, owners and drivers of
			 penalties imposed;
(2) Report in
			 writing to the commission, violations of rules by a permit holder, its officers
			 or race officials. Such reports shall contain detailed information regarding
			 any such reported violations;
(3)
			 Sign each sheet of the judges' book verifying the correctness of the
			 information contained therein;
(4)
			 Exclude from the race any horse that in their opinion is improperly equipped,
			 dangerous, or unfit to race which shall include sick, weak, and extremely lame
			 horses. No horse shall race with a tube in its throat. No horse may race unless
			 he has unimpaired vision in one eye and no horse infected with equine
			 infectious anemia, or a carrier thereof, shall race;
(5) Investigate any apparent or possible
			 interference, or other violation of rule
			 3769-17-15 of
			 the Administrative Code, whether or not a complaint has been made by the
			 driver;
(6) Investigate any act of
			 cruelty seen by them or reported to them by any person toward a race horse
			 during a meeting at which they officiate. If the judges find that such an act
			 has been committed, they shall suspend the offending person and submit a
			 written report of their findings and action to the commission;
(7) Immediately thereafter or as soon as
			 possible after an accident occurs, the judges shall conduct an investigation of
			 such accidents to determine the cause thereof. The judges shall also complete
			 an accident report and mail said report to the commission;
(8) Observe closely the performance of the
			 drivers and the horses to ascertain if there are any violations of the rules of
			 racing, particularly interference, helping, or inconsistent racing and they
			 shall exhaust all means possible to safeguard the contestants and the
			 public;
(9) Declare a dash or heat
			 of a race no contest in the event the track is thrown into darkness during the
			 progress of a race by an electrical malfunction or any incident that has
			 compromised the race and deprived the betting public of a fair contest. If a no
			 contest is declared, the judges may distribute the purse equally among
			 non-offending horses;
(10) Be in
			 the judges' stand fifteen minutes before the first race and remain in the stand
			 for ten minutes after the last race, and at all times when the horses are upon
			 the track;
(11) Observe the
			 preliminary warming up of horses and scoring, noting behavior of horses,
			 lameness, equipment, conduct of the drivers, changes in odds at parimutuel
			 meetings, and any unusual incidents pertaining to horses or drivers
			 participating in races;
(12)
			 Designate one of their associates to lock the parimutuel machines immediately
			 upon the horses reaching the official starting point. The presiding judge, after consulting with the permit holder, shall
			 designate the post time for each race and the horses will be called at such
			 time as to preclude excessive delay after the completion of two
			 scores;
(13) Be in voice
			 communication with the patrol judges from the time the starter picks up the
			 horses until the finish of the race. Any violation or near violation of the
			 rules shall be reported by the patrol judge witnessing the incident and a
			 written record made of same. At least one judge shall observe the drivers
			 throughout the stretch specifically noting changing course, interference,
			 improper use of whips, breaks, and failure to contest the race to the
			 finish;
(14) Post the objection
			 sign or inquiry sign on the odds board in the case of a complaint or possible
			 rule violation, and immediately notify the announcer of the objection and the
			 horse or horses involved. As soon as the judges have made a decision, the
			 objection or inquiry sign shall be removed, the correct placing displayed, and
			 the "official" sign flashed. In all instances the judges shall post the order
			 of finish and the "official" sign as soon as they have made their decision. In
			 addition, the judges shall cause the "inquiry" sign to be posted whenever there
			 has been an accident during the course of the race;
(15) The presiding judge shall call a meeting
			 of all horsemen on the grounds before the opening of a parimutuel meeting for
			 the purpose of their electing a member and an alternate to represent them on
			 matters relating to the racing of horses due to bad track or weather
			 conditions;
(16) In case of
			 questionable track conditions due to weather, the presiding judge shall call a
			 meeting consisting of an agent of the track, the duly elected representative of
			 the horsemen and the presiding judge;
(17) Upon unanimous decision of this
			 committee of three that track conditions are safe for racing, the races will
			 proceed, or if not, there will be time allowed to scrape the track, or if
			 conditions warrant, to cancel the night's program.