Delaware Administrative Code
Title 3 - Agriculture
1000 - Thoroughbred Racing Commission
1001 - Thoroughbred Racing Rules and Regulations
Section 1001-11.0 - Entries, Subscriptions, Delegations
Universal Citation: 3 DE Admin Code 1001-11.0
Current through Register Vol. 28, No. 3, September 1, 2024
11.1 Entering and Eligibility Required:
11.1.1 No horse shall be qualified to start
in any race unless such horse has been and continues to be duly entered
therein. Entries or subscriptions for any horse, or the transfer of same, may
be refused or cancelled by the Licensee without notice or reason given
therefore.
11.1.2 A horse must be
eligible at the time of entry.
11.1.3 A horse must be eligible at the time
of starting.
11.2 Procedure for Making Entries:
11.2.1 It shall
be the absolute responsibility of the Trainer to report bleeders from other
jurisdictions to the Commission's Veterinarian or Stewards on official forms
from that State prior to entry.
11.2.2 All entries, subscriptions,
declarations and scratches shall be lodged with the Racing Secretary and shall
not be considered as having been made until received by the Racing Secretary
who shall maintain a record of time of receipt of same.
11.2.3 Every entry must be in the name of
such horse's registered Owner, as completely disclosed and registered with the
Racing Secretary under these Rules and made by the Owner, Trainer or a person
deputized by such Owner or Trainer.
11.2.4 Every entry must be in writing, or by
telegraph promptly confirmed in writing, except that an entry may be made by
telephone to the Racing Secretary but must be confirmed in writing should the
Stewards, the Racing Secretary or an assistant to the Racing Secretary so
request.
11.2.5 Every entry shall
clearly designate the horse so entered. When entered for the first time during
a meeting, every horse shall be designated by name, age color, sex, sire, dam
and broodmare sire, as reflected by such horse's registration
certificate.
11.2.6 No horse may
race unless correctly identified to the satisfaction of the Stewards as being
the horse duly entered;
11.2.7 In
establishing the identity of a horse, responsibility shall be borne by any
person attempting to identify such horse as well as the Owner of such horse,
all such persons being subject to appropriate disciplinary action for incorrect
identification.
11.2.8 At the time
of entering a horse, the Trainer of such horse or his representative, must
declare to the Racing Secretary or his representative, whether the horse will
race on any medication permitted by these Rules and shall not deviate from such
declaration.
11.2.9 Within the
discretion of the Stewards, a list of horses so declared to race on medication
may, in whole or in part, be announced, released for publication or otherwise
made public without liability for the accuracy thereof.
11.2.10 In order to claim an apprentice
allowance, an Apprentice Jockey may be designated by name by the time of the
drawing for Post Positions.
11.2.11
No alteration may be made in any entry after the closing of entries, except
that an error may be corrected.
11.2.12 No horse may be entered in two races
to be run on the same day, with the exception of Stake Races.
11.3 Limitation as to Spouses: (Repealed 1/6/92.)
11.4 Mutuel Entries:
11.4.1 All horses entered in the same
race and owned wholly or in part by the same owner or spouse thereof shall be
separate entries and be considered separate betting interests for the purpose
of purse calculations and distribution of pools. Horses shall be regarded as
having a common owner when an owner of one horse, either as an individual or as
a licensed member of a partnership or as a licensed shareholder of a
corporation, has an ownership interest in another horse, either as an
individual or as a licensed shareholder of a partnership or as a licensed
shareholder of a corporation.
11.4.2 Same Owner and Different Owner
Entries: Owners shall not have more than two horses entered in a purse race
with the exception of stakes and handicap races. Trainers shall not have more
than 2 horses entered in a purse race with the exception of stakes and handicap
races.
11.4.3 In no case may two
horses having common ties through ownership start in a purse race to the
exclusion of a single interest. When making entries of common ties through
ownership in a Purse race, a preference for one of the horses must be made.
Revised: 6/19/92
11.5 Subscriptions:
11.5.1 Nominations to or entry of a horse in
a stakes race is a subscription. Any subscriber to a stakes race may transfer
or declare such subscription prior to closing.
11.5.1.1 Joint subscription and entries may
be made by any one of the joint Owners of a horse and each such Owner shall be
jointly and severally liable for all payments due thereon.
11.5.1.2 Death of a horse or a mistake in its
entry, when such horse is eligible, does not release the subscriber or
transferee from liability for all stakes fees due thereon. No fees paid in
connection with a subscription to a stakes race that is run shall be
refunded.
11.5.1.3 Death of a
nominator or original subscriber to a stakes race shall not render void any
subscription, entry or right of entry thereunder; all rights, privileges and
obligations shall attach to the successor Owner, including the legal
representatives of the decedent.
11.5.1.4 When a horse is sold privately, sold
at public auction or claimed, stakes engagements for such horse shall be
transferred automatically with such horse to its new Owner, except that if such
horse is transferred to a person whose registration is suspended or otherwise
unqualified to race or enter such horse, then subscriptions shall be void as of
the date of such transfer.
Rule 11.4 Rev. July 1977
Rule 11.4 Rev. July 1978
11.5.1.5 All stakes fees paid toward a stakes
race shall be allocated to the winner thereof unless otherwise provided by the
conditions for such stakes race. In the event a stakes race is not run for any
reason, all such subscription fees paid shall be refunded.
11.6 Closings:
11.6.1 Entries for purse races and
subscriptions to stakes races shall close at the time designated by the
Licensee in the previously published conditions for such races. If a race is
not split, no entry, subscription or declaration shall be accepted after such
closing time, except that in the event of an emergency or if a purse race fails
to fill, then the Racing Secretary may, with the approval of a Steward, extend
such closing time.
11.6.2 If the
hour of closing is not specified for stakes races, then subscriptions and
declarations therefore may be accepted until midnight of the day of closing,
provided they are received in time for compliance with every other condition of
such race.
11.6.3 Entries which
have closed shall be compiled without delay by the Racing Secretary and, along
with declarations, be posted.
11.7 Number of Starters in a Race:
11.7.1 The maximum number of starters in any
race shall be limited to the number of starting positions afforded by the
Licensee's starting gate and such extensions thereof as can be positioned
across the width of the track at the starting point for such race. Such maximum
number of starters shall be further limited by the number of horses which, in
the opinion of the Stewards, considering the safety of the horses and riders
and the distance from the start of the first turn, can be afforded a fair and
equal start.
11.7.2 If any purse
race in the printed condition book fails to fill, then the Licensee may cancel
or declare off such race.
11.8 Split or Divided Races:
11.8.1 In the event a race is cancelled or
declared off, the Licensee may split any race programmed for the same day and
which may previously have been closed.
11.8.2 When a purse race is split, forming
two or more separate races, the Racing Secretary shall give notice thereof not
less than 15 minutes before such races are closed so as to grant time for the
making of additional entries to such split races.
11.8.3 Division of entries upon the splitting
of any race shall be made in accordance with the conditions under which entries
and subscriptions therefore were made and in the absence of specific
prohibition by such conditions:
11.8.3.1
Horses originally joined as a mutuel entry shall, to the greatest extent
possible, be placed in different divisions of a split race;
11.8.3.2 Division of other entries in any
split race may be made according to age, sex or weight, except that such
entries not so divided shall be divided by lot so as to provide a number of
betting interests as nearly equal as possible for each division of such split
race.
11.9 Post Positions: Post positions for all races shall be determined by lot drawn in the presence of those making the entries for such race. Post positions in split races also shall be redetermined by lot in the presence of those making the entries for such split race. The Racing Secretary shall assign pari-mutuel numbers for each starter to conform with the post position drawn, except when a race includes two or more horses joined as a single betting interest.
11.10 Also Eligible List:
11.10.1 If the number of entries for a purse
race exceeds the number of horses permitted to start in such race, then the
names of as many as six (6) additional horses may be drawn as provided in Rule
11.9. The names drawn shall be posted, in the order they were drawn, as "also
eligible" to start.
11.10.2 After
any horses have been excused from a purse race at scratch time, the starting
and post position of such horses as needed from the also-eligible list shall be
determined by the order in which they appear on the entry sheet.
Revised: 10/26/95
11.10.3 Any Owner or Trainer of any horse on
the also-eligible list who does not wish to start such horse in such race shall
so notify the Racing Secretary prior to scratch time for such race and such
horse shall forfeit any preference to which it may have been
entitled.
11.10.4 Where entries are
closed two racing days prior to the running of a race, any horse on an
also-eligible list, which has also been drawn into a race as a starter for the
succeeding day, shall not be given an opportunity to be drawn into the earlier
race for which he had been listed as also-eligible.
11.11 Preferred List; Stars:
11.11.1 The Racing Secretary shall maintain a
list of horses which were entered but denied an opportunity to race because
eliminated from a race programmed in the printed condition book either by
overfilling or failure to fill. Horses so eliminated shall be awarded a
preference "star" for each such elimination. As to drawing in from the
also-eligible list to subsequent races of similar distance and similar
conditions, such horses shall be given preference over horses with fewer number
or no preference stars.
11.11.2 No
preference shall be given a horse otherwise entitled thereto for a race if such
horse is also entered for a race on the succeeding day.
11.11.3 No preference shall be given a horse
otherwise entitled thereto for a race unless preference is claimed at the time
of entry by indicating same on the entry with the word "preferred".
11.12 Arrears: No horse may be entered or raced if the Owner thereof is in arrears as to any stakes fees due by such Owner, or is indebted in any sum to Licensee, except with the approval of the Racing Secretary. (Also, see Rule 6.11).
11.13 Declarations: Withdrawal of a horse from a race before closing thereof by the Owner or Trainer or person deputized by either, such being known as a "declaration', shall be made in the same manner as to form, time and procedure as provided for the making of entries. Declarations and scratches are irrevocable. No declaration fee shall be required by any Licensee.
11.14 Scratches:
11.14.1 Withdrawal of a horse from
a race after closing thereof by the Owner or Trainer or person deputized by
either, such being known as a "scratch", shall be permitted only under the
following conditions:
11.14.1.1 A horse may be
scratched from a stakes race for any reason at any time up until 45 minutes
before post time for that race.
11.14.1.2 No horse may be scratched from a
purse race without approval of the Stewards and unless such intention to
scratch has been filed in writing with the Racing Secretary or his assistant at
or before the time conspicuously posted as "scratch time". Scratch of one horse
coupled in a mutuel entry in a purse race must be made at or before the posted
scratch time, unless permission is granted by the Stewards to allow both horses
to remain in the race until a later appointed scratch time therefore.
11.14.1.3 In purse races, horses that are
physically disabled or sick shall be permitted to be scratched first. Horses
that are not physically disabled or sick may be scratched only with the
permission and in the manner prescribed by the Stewards.
11.14.1.4 Entry of any horse which has been
scratched or excused from starting by the Stewards because of a physical
disability or sickness shall be placed on the Veterinarian's list and shall not
be permitted to race until removed from the Veterinarian's list.
11.14.1.5 The Stewards will review all cases
in which a horse is entered to run at a licensed track in Delaware, while
appearing in the entries in another racing jurisdiction, during the entry
period for Delaware. It shall be a violation of these Rules for a licensee to
scratch a horse entered to race in Delaware in order for said horse to race in
another jurisdiction within the entry period. For violations of this Rule,
absent an agreement with the Steward and Racing Secretary pursuant to which the
enterer knowingly agrees to be least preferred in an overfilled event and
cannot enter an event of no less than 7 betting interests at time of entry or
mitigating circumstances, the trainer will be subject to fines of not less than
$1,000 and no more than $2,500. This rule shall not pertain to nomination
required, Handicap, or Stake races.
11.14.1.6 If the Stewards determine that a
horse has been scratched in error, the Stewards may allow the horse to start
and race for purse money only and be disregarded for pari-mutuel
purposes.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Delaware may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google
Privacy Policy and
Terms of Service apply.
