Overview
- The decision, published February 5, 2026, followed a December 15 hearing that reviewed multi-angle footage and testimony from eight witnesses.
- The panel found the mare’s jump bumped Byrnes, causing sequential loss of his right and then left stirrup before he was unseated.
- The committee said the IHRB did not meet its burden to prove a deliberate dismount by the jockey.
- Unusual market moves—Redwood Queen drifting and odds-on Beacon Edge being supported—were ruled not a motive, with Beacon Edge taking the race after the unseat.
- Charges against trainer Charles Byrnes over a public comment were also dismissed, and the panel criticized premature adverse judgments from commentators and social media.