Photo Finish
A finish so close the result is determined by reviewing a high-speed image of the line crossing. The official result waits until the photo is examined.
A photo finish is called when two or more dogs cross the finish line so close together that the judge cannot separate them by eye. A high-frame-rate camera on the line captures the moment each dog's nose reaches the wire, and the official result is determined from that frame.
Settlement timing: when a race is called a photo, the result is not official until the photo is examined and announced — usually within a few minutes. Betting markets stay suspended (or unsettled) until the photo result is published.
Dead heat: if the photo cannot separate the dogs, a dead heat is declared. Each winning bet is paid out at half odds (or proportionally — see the dead-heat glossary).
For TrapStats, a race in photo status is tracked the same as a finished race once the photo result lands: the official finish positions feed into the settlement reconciler.