🗣️ "Benvenuto Cellini farce is beyond belief - I'd be rich if I got a refund every time I backed a clumsy oaf" Paul Kealy has his say on the non-runner drama following the Derby Read with Racing Post 👇

🗣️ "The BHA just doesn't get it - so here are three reasons why we punters are so furious after Epsom" @claimsfive underlines why racing's audience is so annoyed about the Benvenuto Cellini case Read with Racing Post 👇

Congratulations @SilvDSousa on riding his 2,000th winner in Britain 🎉

👇🤷‍♂️

We're heading to @kemptonparkrace today, where AGENT ROSE makes her racecourse debut for @WilliamsStuart. Good luck! #TeamMPR

What did the data tell us about Benvenuto Cellini in the Derby on Saturday? @StevoGG reports on the colt who was declared a non runner after finishing tenth. racingtv.com/news/raceiq-the…

"Right by the rules. Wrong for racing?" Lydia Hislop dissects the decision to declare Derby favourite Benvenuto Cellini a non-runner after crossing the line in tenth: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcas…

“The @bhastewards @epsomracecourse decided Benvenuto Cellini, the 3-1 Derby favourite, did not have a fair start. “He did, of course, have a fair start. “He just messed it up by having a hindleg on a shelf in the stalls. “Silly boy. But it happens. People mess up. Horses mess up. And stewards mess up. They did here.” 🏇🙏 thesun.co.uk/sport/39339290/…

‘Materially affected’ has to mean the belief is he would otherwise have finished in the placings. If a horse finishes unplaced but would have been unplaced anyway, his chance was not materially affected. Hard to argue he’d have been placed when beaten over 20 lengths by the 3rd.

The scary thing here is they seem to be saying if BC had won they would not have declared him a N/R but if he had finished 2nd or 3rd the Stewards would then have to decide whether he actually ran or not🤯

Some valid points, but importance of riding instructions - asked for after event and yet cited in what was just a short statement at time - is not defended. "Materially" is open to wide interpretation. No-one I know thinks start cost BC the race or a place given what unfolded.

“What we have to do is protect the punter.” Protect us? From what? You don’t have to protect us from anything other than your decisions. We can look after ourselves thank you. It’s called being a grown up. And if you really think that we need protection betting on a horse race then in this case you failed to do that in every sense. How did you protect the backers of Christmas Day? Or another horse placed? 🏇🙏 thesun.co.uk/sport/39339290/…

This BHA blog answers its own question in the negative. However, their chief executive seemed to allow for scenarios when the answer might be yes when speaking on @LuckOnSunday yesterday. When all parties have calmed down, it would be a good idea for them to talk about this again

The issue with the NR rule now made famous by Benvenuto Cellini is clearly the line around an incident at the start having ‘materially affected’ a horse’s chance. It is now clear that subjective bar is *way too low*. Horses have their chance materially affected by all manner of small things during a race - pulling a bit hard, getting a bump from a rival or failing to get cover, but we rightly accept these things as part of the game. This rule should only ever apply where it is clear to most reasonable punters (yes, the customers of the sport) that a horse has effectively been denied a chance to compete in a race due to an unfair start that was out of their control. So - a stall doesn’t open for a second or two and a horse is left 15 lengths behind the others -YES, make it a NR; a horse momentarily has its foot up in the stalls, is v slightly slow away but competes in the race and trades quite close to its SP in running - categorically NO.

BHA CEO saying the result any race can be re examined by the stewards post race to ensure every horse has a fair start 🤷‍♂️

Great to see Ray Cochrane, Michael Hills & Willie Ryan🤩 Three Derby winning jockeys💪 #ITVRacing | @MCYeeehaaa

If they are going to apply rule 6.2.2 to every race there is going to be carnage 😬Horse has its head turned when start affected N/R horse rears N/R Blind off late N/R horse sits down N/R 🫣

This & many of the other starting gate incidents could be non exsistent if the running board tapered to nothing once past where the number cloth sits

This is very dangerous territory imho, this horse has put its leg onto the running board, what's the difference between that & one rearing as the gate opens & losing 10L🤔what if one tries to get under as the stalls open & misses it by 5L, are we going to make all non runners🤔🫣