PUNTER anger over a controversial dead-heat stemmed from TWO different versions of the same photo finish being shown to fans and the judge.
A mysterious ‘pure’ image of the finish was viewed by judges, while all punters got to see was a ‘distorted’ one.
And despite fan anger over the dead-heat call, the result has stood.
Livid racing fans worked themselves into a frenzy over the official result of the last race at Caulfield racecourse in Australia last Saturday.
The heavily-backed even money favourite Defibrillate hit the line alongside 15-1 shot Hang Man.
To the naked eye, it looked absolutely impossible to split the pair.
The result went to stewards and, after a lengthy delay, a dead heat was awarded.
But when the photo finish was shown on social media, Defibrillate backers hit the roof.
They claimed there was a clear gap between their fancy on the outside and Hang Man on the inside.
And their ire intensified after chiefs came out to explain that the judge had seen a previously unreleased ‘pure’ image of the finish that confirmed the result.
Now released to the public, chiefs have scrambled to defend their decision and explained how confusion arose.
Robert Cram – chairman of Stewards Racing Victoria – explained what happened as a result of the two different images.
He said: “The situation is we have a high definition camera being used by the judge.
“He has all the tools available to him to view the images, that’s a digital image and the pure form of it is from the camera straight to the computer.
“A converted PAL image goes on TV monitors – that is a slightly different image to what the judge is seeing.
“The pure form is much sharper but it has to be converted into a PAL image to go on TV screens.
“When you inflate it [the PAL version] you do get distortion coming onto TV screens.
“Ideally it would be better if the image the judge is using can be transmitted straight onto other networks and TV monitors, I would agree with that.”
Punters were less than convinced, however.
One said: “Why wait till today?! Surely this image could have been put out after.”
Another posted: “Is it just me or does Defibrillate still clearly win this? Can see nostril over the line.”
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