The Oklahoma Racing Commission on Thursday adopted new rules defining interference and “dangerous riding” that aligns the state’s regulations with those used in most international racing jurisdictions, an official of the commission confirmed. The amendments will require stewards at the state’s racetracks to use so-called “Category 1” interference rules, as opposed to the “Category 2” rules that are in place in most U.S. jurisdictions. Category 1 rules generally allow stewards to use more discretion in deciding whether to demote a horse, by including language that allows stewards to judge whether the interference allowed the offending horse to finish in a better position than the horse it interfered with. Differences between the two sets of rules have led to discussions among stewards about the relative merits of each philosophy. In the U.S., the Category 2 rules generally require stewards to demote horses based solely on whether the horse committed a foul that compromised another horse’s chances, sometimes given the shorthand, “a foul is a foul is a foul.” The adoption of the rules in Oklahoma was pressed by the Thoroughbred Idea Foundation, an advocacy group that is headed by Patrick Cummings, who is a former director of communications for the Hong Kong Jockey Club, which uses the Category 1 rules. Cummings maintains that the Category 1 rules would lead to better outcomes for bettors. :: Get Daily Racing Form Past Performances – the exclusive home of Beyer Speed Figures “This is a tremendous first step for North American racing jurisdictions to begin the process of harmonizing the rules governing interference [with other major racing countries] and improving the overall experience for racing’s primary customers – the bettors,” Cummings said. In an interview, Cummings said that the TIF asked prominent horseplayers to send letters to the ORC in support of the new rule during its public-comment period. While it is hard to predict the outcomes from any new set of rules, supporters of Category 1 rules point to data showing that racing jurisdictions that use the rules demote far fewer horses than in jurisdictions using the Category 2 rules. In Japan, demotions dropped significantly after the country switched from Category 2 to Category 1 in 2013. Officials for the ORC were not available for comment on Thursday, but a staff member said that the new rules are expected to go into force in September, after a legislative review. Because of concerns that switching to Category 1 rules would encourage rough riding tactics, the ORC also adopted a new definition for dangerous riding. The rules now define dangerous riding as “purposely interfering with another horse or rider; or riding in a way which is far below that of a competent and careful rider where it would be obvious to a competent and careful rider that riding in that way would likely endanger the safety of another horse or rider.” The new rule calls any violation of the definition a “serious infraction.”