After seeing the Preakness on Sat.-I wondered - what happens if the race does end in a dead heat? Ever happen?

Question

After seeing the Preakness on Sat.-I wondered - what happens if the race does end in a dead heat? Ever happen?

Answer 1

Dead heats do happen every once in awhile.

And by the way, had the Preakness ended in a dead heat and Street Sense went on to win the Belmont Stakes, he would have been considered a Triple Crown winner, even though not all three wins would have been "by himself."

Answer 2

This is a great question and Karin and Diamond answered it well.

What is not often discussed is dead heat amongst non money finishers, which occurs also.

Answer 3

I thought I read about a dead heat in the Preakness many years ago.  Dead heats are not uncommon, and in fact I hit both halves of one between a 40-1 and 5-1 once.  It paid over $350 and only cost me $4.  I was also fortunate to witness a triple dead heat years ago at Santa Anita.(I believe it was mid to late 90's).  Needless to say you don't see many of those.

I looked it up, and there was a deadheat in the preakness in 1918 between War Cloud and Jack Hare Jr.

Answer 4

Yes, races do end in dead heats.  Here is a photo of the horses Brownie, Bosuett, and Wait a Bit in a triple dead heat for win in the 1944 Carter Handicap.

http://www.sportslegendsphotosinc.com/pr...

On 12/31/81, at Suffolk Downs, Great Combination, Dawn's Count and Needachant registered that track's first and only triple dead heat.  The triple-heater is only the 17th in North American racing history since widespread use of the photo-finish camera began in 1940. There have only been three others since.

Dead heats between two horses are not that uncommon, and the most recent that occurred in a major stakes race was in the 2003 Breeders' Cup Turf: between High Chaparral and Johar.

When a dead heat occurs, the purses for the two placings involved are combined and divided between the horses involved:  e.g., for the Breeder's Cup Turf, the first-place and second-place monies were combined and divided evenly between Johar and High Chapparal.  Win tickets or any combination bet tickets (e.g., exacta, trifecta, pick six) on both horses were valid and could be cashed.  

To my knowledge, there has never been a quadruple dead heat in a photo finish, although it's possible that in the days of yore before cameras, when a placing judge had to make the decision, there may have been a quadruple dead heat declared.

Answer 5

Yep, sure has happened but very rare.  When a dead heat is declared, wagers are paid on all winning horses.