Scratch - Declaring out

1. Notification to the secretary. No horse may be considered scratched, declared out, or withdrawn from a race until the owner, agent, or other authorized person has given notice in writing to the racing secretary before the time set by the association as scratch time. All scratches must be approved by the stewards. 2. Declaration irrevocable. Scratching, or the declaration of a horse out of an engagement for a race, is irrevocable. 3. Limitation on scratches. No horse may be permitted to be scratched from a race if the horses remaining in the race number less than eight, unless the stewards permit a lesser number. Where there are more requests to scratch that, if granted, would leave a field less than eight, the stewards shall determine by lot which entrants may be scratched and permitted to withdraw from the race. In the case of scratches from races involving daily doubles or trifecta wagering, eight entries must remain in the race to enable an entrant to voluntarily scratch. 4. Scratch time. Unless otherwise set by the racing secretary, scratch time, with regard to stake races, must be at least forty-five minutes before post time, and with regard to other races may be no later than eight a.m. of the day of the race.