23 CAR § 357-505 – Paddock to post

(a) Permission must be obtained from a steward to exercise a horse between races.
(b) When a horse is being so warmed up before entering the paddock, his or her official program number must be displayed by the rider.
(c)
1. (1) In a race, each horse shall carry a conspicuous saddlecloth number corresponding to his or her number on the official program.
2. (2) In the case of an entry, each horse making up the entry shall carry the same number with a distinguishing letter. For example, 1, 1A, 1X.
3. (3) In the case of a field, the horses comprising the field shall carry an individual number, i.e., 12, 13, 14, 15, and so on.
(d) Horses must be in the paddock at least twenty (20) minutes before post time, or at the time appointed by the stewards.
(e) Every horse must be saddled in the paddock or designated saddling area.
(f)
1. (1) All horses shall parade such a distance as is reasonable and proper in the opinion of the stewards, unless excused by the Paddock Judge as provided in Rule 2023.
2. (2) If a horse is so excused from parading and is led to the post, he or she must pass over the same route as that followed by the parade.
(g) All horses shall carry their respective weights from paddock to post and during the running of the race.
(h)
1. (1) Parading horses shall pass the stewards’ stand in the numerical order of their exhibited number.
2. (2) Only a horse being led by the parade leader, or excused from parading, may parade out of numerical order.
(i) In the discretion of the stewards, parading horses may be allowed to break out of numerical order after passing from in front of the stands, or may be required to maintain their order until arrival at the post.
(j) After the horses enter the track, no jockey shall dismount and no horse shall be entitled to the care of an attendant without consent of the stewards or the starter.
(k) In case of accident to a jockey or to his or her mount or equipment, the stewards or the starter may permit the jockey to dismount and the horse to be cared for during the delay, and may permit all jockeys to dismount and all horses to be attended during the delay.
(l) If a jockey is thrown on the way from the paddock to the post, the horse must be remounted, returned to the point where the jockey was thrown, and then proceed over the route of the parade to the post.
(m) If the jockey is so injured on the way to the post as to require another jockey, the horse shall be taken to the paddock, another jockey obtained, and then ridden over any uncompleted portion of the exact route of the parade to the starting point.
(n) If a horse leaves the course while moving from paddock to post, he or she shall return to the course at the nearest practical point to that at which he or she left the course, and shall complete his or her parade to the post from the point at which he or she left the course.
(o) No person shall willfully delay the arrival of a horse at the post.