Horse racing, cheating??

Question

i watched a horse race the other day whilst in the bookies and i saw the horse was in 2nd and just about to go 1st, but the jockey started to straighten up to slow the horse down, my missis is a horse rider and she told me that the jockey was slowing the horse down, why did he do this as i and prob many others in the word backed him to win, he let the fav win the race, why, can anybody explain?

Answer 1

the horse may have been going lame or not running right or something, the jockey would have noticed before anyone watching could.

if it looked really dodgy the course stewards and the jockey club would look in to it.

Answer 2

Anything is possible.  Every race facility has stewards to view the running of each event.  Many are jockey retirees themselves.  This oversight is to safeguard the integrity of the sport.  Blatant infractions will get a rider a meeting with the stewards to discuss their actions.  Stewards have the authority to issue verbal warnings, fines, suspensions, or a combination thereof.  If you as patron have a concern about a particular race, contact the racing commission responsible for the respective facility.