WAC 260-52-030. Starting the race

(1) The starter is responsible for assuring that each participant receives a fair start. (2) If, when the starter dispatches the field, any door at the front of the starting gate stalls does not open properly or if the action by any starting gate personnel directly cause a horse to receive an unfair start, the stewards may declare such a horse a nonstarter. (3) Should a horse not be in the starting gate stall at the time the starting gates are opened, the horse will be declared a nonstarter by the stewards. (4) Should an accident or malfunction of the starting gate, or other unforeseeable event occur during the running of the race, which compromises the fairness of the race or the safety of the participants, the stewards may declare individual horses to be nonstarters, exclude individual horses from all parimutuel pools or declare a "no contest" and refund all wagers except as otherwise provided in the rules involving multirace wagers.