HORSEPLOP.COM
General Category => Harness Racing => Topic started by: captaintreacherous on August 28, 2026, 06:11:30 PM
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I believe you’re thinking of the Dan and Christi Noble incident at Scioto Downs in Ohio.
It happened on Saturday, September 13, 2025, the closing night of the Scioto Downs meet. The Nobles sent out four horses, with Christi training and Dan Noble driving, and they went 4-for-4.
The times were remarkable:
Naturally Gifted A — 1:47.2
Sinbad N — 1:47.0
Celtic Spirit — 1:47.0
Helium N — 1:46.4
The 1:46.4 by Helium N was only one-fifth of a second off the fastest mile ever paced on a 5/8-mile track at that time. The two 1:47 miles were also among the fastest ever recorded on a 5/8-mile oval.
What made it particularly suspicious to people in racing was the contrast with the rest of the card. The other comparable winners were between 1:49 and 1:51.3, while the four Noble horses all went 1:47.2 or faster.
What happened afterward
This is the really interesting part. The Nobles had apparently been required to race out of publicly announced detention barns at various points during the Scioto meet, but not on that final night. Shortly afterward, they were essentially shut out of Dayton Raceway and Miami Valley, and Scioto officials indicated they would not be accepting their entries when racing resumed.
There was no public finding that the Nobles cheated or administered a prohibited substance in connection with that night. The controversy was more about the extraordinary performances and the subsequent exclusion of the Nobles without a detailed public explanation.
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I was always curious as when or who officially starts the timer in a race?
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The four Noble horses
Horse Previous relevant mark Sept. 13
Naturally Gifted A 1:50.4 1:47.2 3.2 seconds
Sinbad N 1:51.2 1:47.0 4.2 seconds
Celtic Spirit N 1:48.3 1:47.0 1.3 seconds
Helium N 1.48:4 1:46:4. Track Record