Earlier today, I reported that the New York State Racing and Wagering Board’s Equine Breakdown, Death, Injury and Incident Database had inadvertently published that Giant Ryan had been euthanized on Saturday, the day that he was injured in the True North at Belmont Park.
According to New York State Racing and Wagering Board spokesperson Lee Park, the inadvertent listing of Giant Ryan as an equine death was “basic human error” that the Board is working to correct, both in this specific instance and systematically.
Park said that he’d been made aware of the mistake last night and that the Board was in the process of correcting it shortly before I contacted him.
According to Park, the Board has personnel at every harness and Thoroughbred track in the state, and when an incident occurs, RWB personnel input the raw data regarding the incident into RWB system; once the data is input, it is automatically uploaded to the database, without being double-checked or confirmed.
“As of this morning,” said Park, “we are implementing internal controls to ensure that a second set of eyes sees the information before it is formally published.
“[The Giant Ryan] incident was a mistake. I’m very upset about it and [RWB] Chairman [John] Sabini is very upset about it. We’re taking steps to make sure that it doesn’t happen again.”
In addition to changing the system by which data is input and corrected, the Board is also, according to Park, going through the current records with “a fine-toothed comb” to look for other errors.
Gotta love the phrase “internal controls” I heard it most of my OTB life.
Hey, it’s close enough for government work!
Thanks for the followup. There are lots of fans wanting to know how Giant Ryan is doing. Any info you can find out would be greatly appreciated
G. Ryan’s surgery is on hold due to some blood flow issues to the area in question.
Thanks for the update, Jim. Your best source of information is likely to be Mike Welsch of the Daily Racing Form; he tweets as @drfwelsch and posted this a short time ago.