Race 1 at Belmont-at-Aqueduct Contested at Incorrect Distance

Monday's first race at Belmont-at-Aqueduct was scheduled to be contested at five-and-a-half furlongs on the dirt, but due to what NYRA called an “outside-vendor issue,” it was run at the incorrect distance of five furlongs.

“Monday's first race at Belmont at the Big A was run at the incorrect distance of five furlongs due to a program diagram error,” said NYRA's Vice President of Communications Patrick McKenna. “The race was written at 5 1/2-furlongs for 2-year-old maidens, however,,due to an outside-vendor issue, the corresponding race graphic in the program portrayed a five-furlong race. The race was subsequently run at five furlongs with War Tax [No. 2, $6.90] winning with Jose Gomez up for trainer Carlos Martin.”

The graphic that appears in the program showing the distance of the race–with the section to be run appearing in black–shows a five-furlong race, and the inside part of the graphic says “5 furlongs.” But in the text of the conditions just below, it reads Five And One Half Furlongs.

The stewards apparently did not notice that the gate was placed in the wrong place, allowing the race to take place. The mistake was discovered after the race was run.

The field was comprised of six first-time starters.

“This is a highly unusual scenario and despite the correct distance being written in the program, on the overnight and across wagering platforms, the race was unfortunately contested at the incorrect distance. NYRA will review its protocols to ensure this scenario does not present itself again.”