Part II. Paddock to Post
11VAC10-140-12. Safety helmets.
Any person mounted on a horse or stable pony on association grounds must wear a safety helmet approved by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) securely fastened under the chin at all times.
Statutory Authority
§ 59.1-369 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 23, Issue 18, eff. May 31, 2007.
11VAC10-140-15. Safety vests.
A. A safety vest shall be worn when:
1. Racing, parading, or warming up a horse prior to racing;
2. Jogging, training, or exercising a horse at any time; or
3. Handling horses in the starting gate.
B. A safety vest shall:
1. Cover the torso, front and back, from the collar bone to the hip bone;
2. Be of uniform material and thickness over the whole of the vest except for localized:
a. Variation due to pattern, for example, quilting;
b. Thinner areas to aid fit, for example, under the arms, at fastenings and at edges; and
c. Thicker areas in regard to particularly sensitive areas of the body, for example, the spine; and
3. Equal or exceed a minimum shock absorbance rating of five according to the specifications established by the British Equestrian Trade Association (BETA), which are as follows:
a. Use a critical height apparatus to measure the maximum deceleration on impact of a striker consisting of a spherical idententer weighing 5.9 (+/-0.05) kilograms with a diameter of 215 (+/-2) millimeters;
b. Condition the vest and the striker for a minimum of three hours at 23° (+/-2°) Centigrade;
c. With the vest lying on a smooth, flat massive concrete base with the inside of the vest facing the striker and positioned so that the striker will impact on an area of typical thickness, not reinforced by additional material, raise and release the striker starting at a height of 0.2 meter and increasing the height by increments of 0.2 meter to a height that will result in a deceleration of over 300 gravity units (1G=9.81 ms-1) as measured by recording the signal from an accelerometer through the impact from the time before the striker impacts the vest until the accelerometer returns to the same level as before the impact;
d. Record the gravity units measured at each height increment on a line graph that has the gravity units in ascending order as the vertical axis and the release height in meters in ascending meters as the horizontal access.
e. Plot the height in meters at which the deceleration reached 300 gravity units; and
f. Multiply the height obtained in subdivision 3 e of this subsection by 10 to calculate the shock absorbance rating.
Statutory Authority
§ 59.1-369 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 23, Issue 18, eff. May 31, 2007.
11VAC10-140-20. Paddock time.
The trainer shall be responsible for the arrival in the paddock at the time prescribed by the stewards for each horse entered by the trainer.
Statutory Authority
§ 59.1-369 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from VR662-05-01 § 2.1, eff. September 26, 1991.
11VAC10-140-30. Weighing out.
A jockey shall be weighed out by the clerk of scales no later than 15 minutes before post time. The following provisions shall apply to the weighing out of jockeys:
1. His clothing, saddle, girth, pad and saddle cloth shall be included in a jockey's weight;
2. Bit, blinkers, bridle, chamois, goggles, number cloth, overgirth, reins, safety helmet, safety vest, and whip shall not be included in a jockey's weight;
3. When a substitute jockey is required, he shall be weighed out promptly, and the name of the substitute jockey and weight announced to the public;
4. No jockey may carry overweight in excess of two pounds, without the permission of the owner or trainer;
5. If the overweight is more than one pound but less than five pounds, the jockey shall declare the amount of the overweight to the clerk of scales no later than 45 minutes before post time;
6. All overweights must be announced to the public;
7. A substitute jockey must be named, if the overweight exceeds five pounds;
8. If an underweight is discovered after wagering has commenced but before the start, the horse shall be returned to the paddock and the weight corrected;
9. A jockey shall not be weighed out unless the prescribed fee has been deposited with the horsemen's bookkeeper; and
10. Failure to have the prescribed fee on deposit with the horsemen's bookkeeper may be cause for the stewards to excuse the horse from racing.
Statutory Authority
§ 59.1-369 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from VR662-05-01 § 2.2, eff. September 26, 1991; amended, Virginia Register Volume 18, Issue 23, eff. July 1, 2002.
11VAC10-140-40. Prohibitions.
No person other than the horse's owner, trainer, employees of the owner or trainer, paddock judge, horse identifier, assigned valet, commission veterinarian or his designee, steward, farrier, pony rider, or outrider shall touch a horse while it is in the paddock. The material used as a tongue tie shall be supplied by the horse's trainer or his designee, who shall affix the tongue tie in the paddock.
Statutory Authority
§ 59.1-369 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from VR662-05-01 § 2.3, eff. September 26, 1991; amended, Virginia Register Volume 18, Issue 23, eff. July 1, 2002; Volume 26, Issue 20, eff. May 29, 2010.
11VAC10-140-50. Saddling horses.
The trainer shall be responsible for the saddling of the horse, and in his absence, he must assign an assistant or substitute trainer to saddle each horse entered by him. All horses must be saddled in the paddock unless permission to saddle horses elsewhere has been granted by the stewards.
Statutory Authority
§ 59.1-369 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from VR662-05-01 § 2.4, eff. September 26, 1991; amended, Virginia Register Volume 33, Issue 2, eff. October 19, 2016.
11VAC10-140-60. Changing equipment.
Permission must be obtained from the stewards for the following changes of a horse's equipment from that which the horse used in its last previous start:
1. To add blinkers or any device that would restrict vision or could affect performance to a horse's equipment or to discontinue the use of blinkers or any such device that would restrict vision or could affect performance;
2. To use or discontinue use of a bar plate;
3. To race a horse without shoes or with a type of shoes not generally used for racing; and
4. To race a horse without the jockey carrying a whip.
Changes of equipment shall be noted in the daily program. In the absence of such notation, the change of equipment shall be announced to the public and noted on the closed-circuit television system. The stewards shall cause an appropriate public announcement or a display to be made in the paddock or elsewhere at the discretion of the stewards for the aforementioned changes of equipment.
Statutory Authority
§ 59.1-369 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from VR662-05-01 § 2.5, eff. September 26, 1991; amended, Virginia Register Volume 18, Issue 23, eff. July 1, 2002; Volume 26, Issue 20, eff. May 29, 2010.
11VAC10-140-70. First-time starters.
Whips or blinkers may be used on two-year-old horses and other first-time starters, if the horses are schooled from the starting gate under the supervision of the starter, and approved by the starter and the stewards before the time of entry.
Statutory Authority
§ 59.1-369 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from VR662-05-01 § 2.6, eff. September 26, 1991.
11VAC10-140-80. Identifying equipment.
Each horse shall carry a conspicuous saddlecloth number and each jockey shall wear a number on his right arm, both of which correspond to the number of the horse as listed in the daily racing program. In the case of a coupled entry, each horse making up the coupled entry shall carry the same number with a distinguishing letter.
Statutory Authority
§ 59.1-369 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from VR662-05-01 § 2.7, eff. September 26, 1991.
11VAC10-140-90. Inspecting equipment.
The paddock judge may, in his discretion, require that bandages on a horse's legs be removed or replaced.
Statutory Authority
§ 59.1-369 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from VR662-05-01 § 2.8, eff. September 26, 1991.
11VAC10-140-100. Post parade.
All horses shall parade past the stewards' stand and carry their assigned weight from the paddock to the starting post, unless excused by the stewards from the post parade. The following provisions shall apply to post parades:
1. The stewards, in their discretion, may excuse a horse from the post parade;
2. Any horse excused from the post parade shall be led by an employee of the owner or trainer and shall carry its assigned weight from the paddock to the starting post;
3. After passing the stewards' stand during the post parade, the horses may leave the parade to walk, canter or otherwise warm up on their way to the starting post;
4. The post parade shall not exceed 12 minutes from the time the field enters the racing surface until reaching the starting post, except for unavoidable delays;
5. If a jockey is thrown from a horse during the post parade, he shall remount the horse at the point where he was thrown from the horse;
6. If a jockey is injured during the post parade or a substitute jockey is needed, then the horse shall be returned to the paddock where the horse shall be mounted by the substitute jockey;
7. If a horse leaves the racing surface during the post parade, the horse shall be returned to the racing surface at the nearest practical point to where it left the course and then complete the post parade; and
8. No person shall willfully delay the arrival of a horse at the starting post.
Statutory Authority
§ 59.1-369 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from VR662-05-01 § 2.9, eff. September 26, 1991.
11VAC10-140-110. Lead pony and rider.
A horse may be led to the starting post by a lead pony and rider, but the horse and lead pony shall pass the steward's stand during the post parade en route to the starting post. Lead ponies and riders may be excluded from the paddock at the discretion of the stewards.
Statutory Authority
§ 59.1-369 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from VR662-05-01 § 2.10, eff. September 26, 1991.
11VAC10-140-120. Outrider.
Outriders shall accompany the horses during the post parade and be positioned to render assistance to a jockey riding an unruly horse or catch a loose horse from the time the horses enter the racing surface until reaching the starting post. The outrider shall not help a jockey riding an unruly horse unless the jockey requests the assistance of an outrider. After the start of the race, the outriders shall position themselves to help jockeys in pulling up horses, catch any loose horses or render assistance to any injured horses.
Statutory Authority
§ 59.1-369 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from VR662-05-01 § 2.11, eff. September 26, 1991.
11VAC10-140-130. Post time.
Post time shall be prominently displayed on the closed-circuit television system and, if available, on the infield results board. The starter shall endeavor to get the horses and jockeys at the starting post at post time so as to avoid any delay in effecting the start of the race.
Statutory Authority
§ 59.1-369 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from VR662-05-01 § 2.12, eff. September 26, 1991; amended, Virginia Register Volume 18, Issue 23, eff. July 1, 2002.