Code of Maryland Regulations
Title 09 - MARYLAND DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Subtitle 10 - RACING COMMISSION
Chapter 09.10.01 - Thoroughbred Rules
Section 09.10.01.31 - Penalties and Allowances
Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 19, September 20, 2024
A. Weight penalties are obligatory.
B. Weight allowance is obligatory except by permission of a steward. This permission shall be obtained at the time of entry.
C. Weight allowance shall be claimed at the time of overnight entry and shall be the responsibility of the trainer.
D. An apprentice allowance may be claimed at scratch time if the named rider is unable to fulfill their engagement.
E. An apprentice allowance may not be claimed at scratch time if no rider was named at the time of overnight entry.
F. Weight allowance may not be abandoned after the posting of entries except by consent of the stewards.
G. Penalties and allowance of weight are not cumulative, unless so declared by the conditions of a race.
H. A horse shall start with only the allowance of weight to which he is entitled at the time of starting.
I. Horses incurring weight penalties for a race are not entitled to any of the weight allowances for that race.
J. Horses not entitled to the first weight allowance in a race are not entitled to the second, and so on.
K. Omitting to claim a weight allowance is not cause for disqualification.
L. A horse may not incur a weight penalty or be barred from any race for having been placed second or lower in any race.
M. A horse may not be given a weight allowance for failure to finish second or in any lower place in any race.
N. Penalties incurred in steeplechase or hurdle races do not apply to races on the flat or vice versa.
O. Allowance due in steeplechase or hurdle races do not apply to races on the flat or vice versa.
P. Penalties may not be invoked, or allowances made, in arriving at the weight to be carried in matches, or in private sweepstakes.
Q. A horse may not receive allowance of weight, or be relieved of extra weight, for having been beaten in one or more races. However, this rule does not prohibit maiden allowance or allowances to horses which have not won within a specified period, or which have not won a race of specified value.
R. A horse may not incur a weight penalty for a placement from which he is disqualified, but a horse placed through the disqualification of another horse shall incur the weight penalties of that placement.
S. A horse involved in a dead heat for first place shall be liable to weight penalty for the amount received.
T. In reckoning weight penalties or allowances, any race whose conditions preclude the claim of any of the starters may not be considered a claiming race, even if won by a horse liable to claim under those conditions.
