Noble matter raises questions on transparency and fairness

Eyebrow-raising results produced by four horses campaigned by Dan and Christi Noble on the closing night at Scioto Downs raises concerns and calls for out-of-competition testing in Ohio.

by Brett Sturman

There’s a widely popularized phrase stemming from a 1960’s United States Supreme Court ruling, “I know it when I see it.” When applied to what could be perceived as alleged improprieties taking place on closing night at Scioto Downs two Saturday’s ago (Sept. 13), it’s that doctrine which has landed the husband-and-wife team of Dan and Christi Noble in hot water in Ohio.

Though there is yet to be a formal announcement, it’s perhaps racing’s worst kept secret that the Nobles are, at least for the time being, limited in their options for getting their horses raced.

What numerous sources have communicated is further supported by the fact that no entries for horses with either Noble as a trainer or a driver have appeared for the first three draws of the new season at Ohio’s Dayton Raceway. That makes the Nobles conspicuously absent at a track where Dan was the leading driver last year. Preliminary indications are that the same will hold true when Scioto Downs resumes racing next year.

By the numbers, here’s what transpired at Scioto where the Nobles, along with others, had been mandated to race out of publicly-notified detention barns at times throughout the meet, but not on closing night. The four horses sent out by Christi as trainer and Dan as driver on Sept. 13 went four-for-four, winning over the five-eighths size track in times of 1:46.4, 1:47, 1:47, and 1:47.2. The 1:46.4 was just one-fifth-of-a-second off the fastest mile ever paced over any five-eighths size track, and the two separate 1:47s are tied with Sweet Lou for the now third fastest miles ever paced over any five-eighths size track.

For further perspective, the other non-Noble winning race times that night (excluding 2-year-old races which wouldn’t be a fair comparison) were 1:51.1, 1:51, 1:50.2, 1:51, 1:49, 1:49.1, 1:50.1, and 1:51.3.

That night began in race 1 with the Noble horse Naturally Gifted A winning in a time of 1:47.2 while shipping to Noble from Plainridge. That win time showed an improvement from his career mark of 1:50.4 taken from the end of June at Plainridge. All prior race lines since that mark and the Scioto race show individual race times between 1:50.4 and 1:52.2.

Next up in race 4 was Sinbad N, an eight-length winner in 1:47. Going second-start Noble since arriving from Yonkers, Sinbad N improved on a 1:51.2 lifetime mark taken at Pocono Downs in July by over four seconds in establishing the new 1:47 mark.

It was another 1:47 mile two races later with a horse named Celtic Spirit who crushed foes by nearly double digits in what, for a brief time, tied the track record set about 30 minutes prior by barnmate Sinbad N. The 1:47 mile of Celtic Spirit bested his 1:48.3 lifetime best mile set at Scioto the preceding Saturday (Sept. 6).

Concluding with the open in race 8, Helium N left from the outside post 6, hit the front and went wire-to-wire through fractions of :25.3, :53 and 1:19.2 en route to his record-smashing 1:46.4 win where he humbled the 1-9 favorite Women Layer by 3½ lengths. It improved from Helium N’s prior career record of 1:48.2 set earlier this Scioto meet.

As of this writing, only Celtic Spirit was in to go at Dayton, but he is now racing out of a new stable. The other three horses are not in to go, which adds to mounting speculation that there could be impact on owners of these horses, too.

Beyond providing context for the Nobles’ omission from subsequent entries since that night, it raises the question as to what explanation – if any – is the public owed at this point. Though there have been no formal accusations and there should be a presumption of innocence maintained, there was still a combined amount of over $125,000 wagered on the four above mentioned races. At minimum, are those who contribute handle to races that produce statistical anomalies deserving of at least a statement that speaks to judges being aware of a matter and will be speaking to the participants – just something that at least acknowledges awareness of integrity matters to the public?

It’s not only the bettors impacted but also competing race participants. Speaking separately from this specific instance, trainer and driver Anthony MacDonald who competes as a trainer and driver in many different jurisdictions including Ohio, has been advocating publicly for some time for regulation to help safeguard the sport.

Communicating through email, MacDonald said, “Honestly, I think my sentiment is clear and has been for a while. Generally speaking, and without pointing fingers at anyone, for Ohio to become a leader in this industry it will have to implement out-of-competition testing. The concern of improprieties plants a seed of doubt in industry stakeholders and the betting public. There is only one way to alleviate that, and that is out-of-competition testing. This is the gold standard in all major sports that have even any component of gambling. Our sport is based almost solely on gambling making this not just a request, but a must.

“I think everyone would like a level playing field; and the lack of safeguards like out-of-competition testing make it all too easy to sow the seeds of doubt. Any Ohio laws standing in the way of out-of-competition testing being implemented need amending to allow state officials to do their jobs. I think that’s an absolute must, moving forward for the state of Ohio.”

Agreeing with those sentiments, additional measures taken to further the integrity of racing and the races themselves are essential. They could take matters such as the case of the Nobles — which ultimately does remain subjective — and instead have a set of regulations that all involved can feel confident in the results produced from it.