Racing Victoria stewards are satisfied there was no untoward betting activity on Yucatan leading up to his scratching from the Caulfield Cup.
The Aidan O’Brien-trained stayer was favourite for Saturday’s $5 million race on Monday morning following his impressive win in the Herbert Power Stakes.
On Monday night part-owner Lloyd Williams advised Racing Victoria and various media outlets Yucatan would not be running.
In a statement stewards said analysis of Betfair data showed no abnormal price movements before media outlets tweeted news Yucatan was out of the race at 7.32pm on Monday.
The first time the price moved on Betfair was just under two minutes later, when his price went from $6.60 to $9.20, with amounts matched being minimal.
“Stewards are comfortably satisfied, on the evidence available to them, that nothing untoward occurred on Betfair before the announcement at 7:32pm and no individuals knew and took advantage of news that Yucatan would not be taking its place in the 2018 Caulfield Cup prior to this information being made publicly available,” the statement said.
Since his win last week at Caulfield, the stayer has undergone a name change and will race in the 2018 Melbourne Cup as Yucatan Ire.
