To be sure, stewarding is an imperfect science. The only consistent thing about stewarding is, a lot of times, the inconsistency.
Alan Carasso writes on www.thooroughbreddailynews.com that a pair of recent disqualifications, including the much-discussed demotion of McKinzie (Street Sense) in the GII San Felipe S. Mar. 10, have only served to amplify that notion.
But Kim Kelly, chief stipendiary steward of the Hong Kong Jockey Club and the chairman of the International Harmonization of Raceday Rules committee of the International Federation of Horseracing has, for the last decade or so, been doing his part to normalize and standardize stewarding practices.
Previously the deputy chairman of stewards in Sydney, Kelly joined the Hong Kong Jockey Club in 2002 and was appointed to the role of chief steward in 2009. Since then he has chaired the harmonization of raceday rules committee, has also been chairman of two international stewards’ conferences in conjunction with the Asian Racing Conference and will do so again when this year’s ARC convenes in South Korea. And he has accomplished much in his short time at the helm.
Most of the world’s major racing jurisdictions abide by the so-called Category 1 philosophy as it relates to protests, i.e. claims of foul (see below).
In 2013, the Japan Racing Association adopted Category 1 and beginning with this year, France and Germany will align with the rest of Europe, while the majority of South American countries will abandon the ‘old’ way of thinking.
