The NYRA released a statement that Saturday's Finale was ran 1/16th mile shorter than carded

If things felt a bit off at Saratoga Race Course for the final race on Saturday, the reason was ... it was.

A field of 10 went into the starting game for the 12th Race to go 1 1/8 Miles on the Mellon Turf Course.  Fidelightcayut emerged victorious, winning by 3/4 lengths over Terminal Velocity.  Charles J finished 3rd.

But things weren't right. 

The gate was misplaced, which meant horses were traveling a sixteenth of a mile shorter than the advertised distance of 1 1/8 Miles.  

The mistake prompted NYRA to issue a press release on Sunday, stating that the temporary rail on the turf course set at 18 feet dictated different gate placements to accommodate the wider circumference of the track, but it was incorrectly placed prior to start of the 12th Race.  

"Following this incident, staff from The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) met with the Stewards and determined that human error caused the gate to be placed in the incorrect position. NYRA has implemented measures to ensure that racing officials and Stewards proactively acknowledge and verify the correct gate placement prior to the start of every race."

- The New York Racing Association (NYRA)

What this statement release doesn't answer are questions like how nothing was brought up to the starting crew before the horses were loaded into the gate at post time.  The gate was moved into position approximately 5 minutes before post time, since the race was on the grass.  Or how no inquiry was brought up into the running of the race after the winner had finished in a faster than normal time.  A race distance of 1/16th miles would equate into a time of approximately 5 1/2 to 6 seconds, depending on the speed and distance of a race.  But the Stewards never lit up the inquiry sign, and the race was declared official to pay the winning bettors for all wagers.

With approximately $2.2 million dollars in total single race pools, based on the Equibase chart above, a lot of money was at stake with the decision to pay out the winning wagers despite the race not being ran at the advertised distance.  Charles J, the horse who finished 3rd, was making a charge down the stretch where that 1/16th of a mile would have made a difference between finishing third and winning the race.