Most horse racing fans are keeping their eye on the Del Mar racing track. It is where the sport’s elite will be for the next couple of months. And it will eventually culminate with the Breeders’ Cup Championship on November 1st. But it’s not just the States vibing with the sport. The King’s sport has its spread all across North America, and the excitement is palpable at any track you turn your attention to. Well, what happened at the Fort Erie racetrack could be termed as dramatic. But the emotion fans are feeling is mostly shock, outrage, and repulsion.

Who doesn’t love a last-second reversal at the racetrack? Remember the 2024 Kentucky Derby, which saw all three horses on the podium in a photo finish? These legendary races, horses finding another gear when everything’s almost lost to flip the script—these exhilarating moments bring the fans back. However, what happened at the Fort Erie racing has left the fans speechless.

It was Chris Fallica of Fox Sports who retweeted a race clip on X on August 5. The Turf race took place on Monday, August 4, at Fort Erie, Ontario. His caption was sensational enough. “Jockey should never be allowed to ride again.” The race clip cleared up what Fallica was talking about. In the lead was Princess O Denmark, a four-year-old filly who was almost 4-5 lengths ahead with a furlong left in the five-furlong race.

Nothing seemed to jump out of the ordinary. Seemed it would be a regulation win for the Danish Dynaformer-sired horse. That is, until Rolling Roxxx made a dashing move to close the gap on Princess O Denmark. The 5-length gap became 4, 4 became 3, and before jockey Kirk Johnson could do anything, his Princess O Denmark had been left behind as she barely held on to a 2nd place finish by a neck.

Well, since the race, everyone’s been talking about one controversial angle—Kirk Johnson’s role in running the last furlong. He didn’t seem to push for the win, continuing with the pace while Rolling Roxxx and the pack found an extra gear of acceleration. Speculations are rife, some saying Johnson’s horse was gassed. But many are stating that Kirk Johnson threw away the race. In fact, Chris Fallica is implying that exact thing.

Even a layman would know that deliberately losing a race is an attack on the integrity of the sport. Horse racing has provisions for the stewards to intervene and hand out a ban to the offending party. But guess what? No action was taken against the Canadian jockey. And he raced two more races on the day. What would infuriate the fans more? Johnson won the immediate next race.

The entire episode has left the fans sick in their stomachs. Just think about the ones who had bet on Princess O of Denmark to win. Well, the fans are having their say. And it’s a multi-pronged attack.

The horse racing community is fuming with the verdict

The majority of the fans had only one demand—ban and suspension, and keeping Kirk Douglas as far away from the racetracks as possible. Well, the stewards didn’t think so. And one fan said, “Stewards should never be allowed to steward again if he isn’t seriously fined and suspended.” It is a bad precedent if corruption is allowed to breed in the sport that directly impacts the pockets of the fans. One of the pillars the sport stands on is the wagers the fans make.

And if there is no integrity and fairness in the races, why should the fans put their money on the line? In fact, one fan said exactly that. “Nobody should play this track. ever!” But apparently, the stewards saw nothing wrong with dishing out a sanction. If anything, they flipped the accusations with their own query when one fan asked the stewards themselves.

The tweet from the fan read, “THIS IS TRUE—I called Fort Erie racetrack 5 minutes after this race and was put through to the stewards! Honestly couldn’t believe I got to ask them how they could allow this kind of ride?! Their response: “ If he wasn’t trying  to win, how do you account for the large lead?” 😤” Well, the comment section only had some fans speculating the lead was to control the finish, which may not have been possible if Johnson’s horse was in the pack.

Well, it’s impossible to make that judgment call. Maybe it was a case of Princess O Denmark running out of speed. Although one fan did accuse Kirk Johnson of not upholding the moral sanctity of the game. The tweet read, “Kirk Johnson is one of their favorites at FE .  They  kiss his ass.   And he stiffs regularly.  Known for it!  I stopped playing this track 2 years ago ..he is one of the reasons.”

Quite a serious accusation! And being a veteran who has more than 7700 starts to his name, the entire incident should be probed with utmost transparency to ensure the icons of the sport instill the right values for future generations. Because, right now, the fans are fuming about why he’s even being allowed to race. And one fan had this to say: “I would have ran out on the track and beat him with his own whip if I bet that.”

Too extreme for some, but ask yourself this. If it were your money that was being stiffed, how would you feel? The horse racing fans come to see edge-of-the-seat, electrifying races that propel the trainers, the jockeys, and the thoroughbreds to the status of legends. The striving for excellence is what makes the sport glorious.