ITV Racing star Chris Hughes was left asking punters ‘why are you moaning?’ after a load of them were left confused by the end of this race.
Pepsi Cat and Emeralds Pride were involved in a right ding-dong to the line at Redcar on Tuesday afternoon.
The 4-1 joint-fav Pepsi Cat looked to have found room at just the right time under Dougie Costello and got home at the post.
Connor Beasley on 8-1 Emeralds Pride appeared to have just missed out, with Pepsi Cat clearly in front a few yards over the line.
It went to a photo but punters were pretty certain the Steph Hollinshead-trained Pepsi Cat had nicked it late on.
However, the photo of the finish only served to blur matters, with Emeralds Pride eventually named the winner by a nose.
Punters hit the roof and thought if Pepsi Cat hadn’t won, then it was at least a dead-heat.
One bettor pointed out that both horses finished the 5f race at exactly 58.88 seconds.
Yet the margin of victory needed to be decided by just a pixel, where it looked Emeralds Pride was in front when it mattered most.
OFFERS OF THE DAY
Tote: Bet £5 Get £20 in Free Bets – CLAIM HERE
Virgin Bet: Bet £10 Get £20 in free bets – CLAIM HERE
Betfair: Bet £10 Get £30 in Free Bets – CLAIM HERE
Paddy Power: Bet £20 and get it back as Cash if it Loses – CLAIM HERE
Sky Bet: Bet £10 Get £30 in Free Horse Racing Bets – CLAIM HERE
Tote: New customers online only. Place your first bet on racing pools for a minimum of £5 and win or lose you will receive £20 Tote Credit. £20 Tote Credit rewarded as £10 redeemable against racing bets only and £10 redeemable against UK and Irish placepot bets only. Tote Credit cannot be withdrawn, exchanged, or substituted and expires after 7 days. Qualifying bet is the first racing pool bet added to the bet-slip. Ten to Follow, virtual and football bets do not qualify. Totewin will be the qualifying bet when a Totewin and a Toteplace bet are struck at the same time. New UK & ROI customers only. 18+. Full T&Cs apply. begambleaware.org
Virgin Bet: New members. £10 min deposit & bet on sportsbook, placed & settled at 1.5 min odds within 14 days of sign-up. Win part of E/W bets. 2 non-withdrawable £10 Free Bet Tokens: accept in 7 days, valid for 7 days from acceptance (ex. E/Ws & Multiples), stakes not returned. Click here for Rules & Exclusions. Bet Responsibly. BeGambleAware.org 18+ begambleaware.org
Betfair: New Customer offer. Place a min £10 bet on the Sportsbook on odds of min 1/2 (1.5), get £30 in Free Bets. Rewards valid for 30 days. SMS verification required. Only deposits via cards will qualify. T&Cs apply. Please Gamble Responsibly 18+ begambleaware.org
Paddy Power: New customers only. Place your FIRST bet on any sportsbook market and if it loses we will refund your stake in CASH. Max refund for this offer is £20. Only deposits made using Cards or Apple Pay will qualify for this promotion. T&Cs apply. Paddy’s Rewards Club: Get a £10 free bet when you place 5x bets of £10+. T&Cs apply. 18+ Begambleaware.org
Sky Bet: 18+NEW CUSTOMERS ONLY. FIRST SINGLE & E/W BET ONLY ODDS OF 1/1 OR GREATER. 3 X £10 BET TOKENS. FREE BET STAKES NOT INCLUDED IN RETURNS. FREE BETS ONLY REDEEMABLE ON HORSE RACING. FREE BETS ARE NON WITHDRAWABLE. NO FREE BET EXPIRY. ELIGIBILITY RESTRICTIONS AND FURTHER T&CS APPLY. 18+ Begambleaware.org
Comments flooded social media questioning the decision, but popular host Hughes thought it was clear as day.
In response to a load of backlash, he wrote: “Why are people moaning at this?
“Far side nose banded, head down. Pretty decisive enough.”
One person replied saying they thought people were looking at the wrong horse, mistakenly believing the noseband runner to be nearside.
Hughes added: “Yeah I think they’re looking at the wrong head.”
Not that that stopped a load of comments from punters crying foul.
One moaned: “Absolute joke of a result. Pepsi Cat or at worst a dead-heat.”
Another said: “Can’t believe I lost this. It’s a dead-heat at least!”
One wrote: “Hard to see how Pepsi Cat hasn’t won that.”
While a fellow Twitter user commented: “That really is a shocking decision.”
Tight finishes have stung punters in recent days, with £13,000 going up in flames on this 1.01 runner.
The money piled in for Joseph O’Brien’s Nurburgring and he hit 1-100 in-running only for the placings to be reversed.
FREE BETS – GET THE BEST SIGN UP DEALS AND RACING OFFERS
Commercial content notice: Taking one of the bookmaker offers featured in this article may result in a payment to The Sun. 18+. T&Cs apply. Begambleaware.org
Remember to gamble responsibly
A responsible gambler is someone who:
Establishes time and monetary limits before playingOnly gambles with money they can afford to loseNever chases their lossesDoesn’t gamble if they’re upset, angry or depressedGamcare – www.gamcare.org.ukGamble Aware – www.begambleaware.org