Gulfstream declares 1st race no-contest after emergency alarm

Saturday's first race at Gulfstream has been declared a no-contest after the emergency alarm went off in the middle of the race. As a result, Gulfstream Park refunded all wagers on the race, including multi-race wagers that began in the opener.

Down the stretch for the first time in the one-mile turf race, Roscoe Village was in tight. She stumbled, fell and unseated rider Jorge Ruiz. Roscoe Village chased the field riderless, while announcer Pete Aiello announced that Ruiz was down on the course after the fall. While the field was running down the back stretch, Aiello announced that Ruiz was being helped off the course and the race would continue.

Gulfstream stewards posted an inquiry shortly after the finish. Upon review, stewards declared the race a no-contest. In the explanation on the track feed Aiello said, "The emergency siren went off during the middle of the race. As is the safety custom here, because of that, jockeys heard that siren and did not persevere with some of their mounts. So, in the interest of fairness, the first race has been declared a no-contest."

According to a statement from Gulfstream Park, Ruiz was moving after the fall but had soreness and neck pain, and was taken to Aventura Hospial for evaluation. He was taken off his mounts for the rest of the day. Roscoe Village, who trailed the field riderless through the rest of the race, was reported uninjured in the Gulfstream statement.

The race was an allowance-optional claiming race for fillies and mares in which all the runners were in under the first-level condition. Second betting choice Steel Lute, trained by Chad Brown, made the lead in the final furlong and held off late runs from favored Tutta La Vita as well as Lady Cha Cha. Tutta La Vita, now trained by Ignacio Correas IV, was racing for the first time in the United States but was multiple Group 1-placed in Australia.