Testimony Calls Horse’s Win Too Good to Be True

When a horse called Landing Officer burst out of the thick Louisiana fog to score a 24-length victory at Delta Downs on Jan. 11, the performance was too good to be true, an expert told the Louisiana Racing Commission today.

“I don’t think he could have run that fast on that track that night,” said David Wilson, a 17-year employee of the Daily Racing Form.

Wilson was testifying in a racing commission hearing on jockey Sylvester Carmouche.

Carmouche is accused of slipping out of the Delta Downs race at the starting gate under cover of fog, waiting for his competition to round the track, then slipping back in well ahead of the pack near the finish line.

If Carmouche didn’t cheat, Landing Officer covered the mile-long course just 1.2 seconds off the track record.

But Wilson said there was no way a horse who won only five times in 53 starts could have beaten the other eight horses by 24 lengths in near-record time on a slow track.

More damaging testimony came from track employee J. L. Vincent, assigned to count the horses at various well-lighted points on the night of the race. He said he saw only eight at the first turn.

“I thought maybe one horse had stayed in the starting gate,” said Vincent.

On the final turn, Vincent said, he counted nine horses. “The No. 8 horse was ahead and running so fast he looked more like a quarter horse,” said Vincent.

He referred to quarter horse racing at the track, in which mounts cover shorter distances at faster paces.

About 20 witnesses were expected to testify at today’s hearing, a continuation of another hearing that was held a month ago. Carmouche was suspended from racing at Delta Downs for two months after the race. Today’s hearing was to determine whether any more action should be taken against him.

At the first hearing, Delta Downs veterinarian James Broussard testified that Landing Officer wasn’t breathing heavily and that the horse’s leg wrappings were clean when the race was over.

Under cross-examination by Carmouche’s lawyer, Broussard maintained that he didn’t think Carmouche made the whole race.