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such a tragic loss, such a shock to the whole of the racing industry, of todays events, rip Fenix Two and Marching Song, thoughts go out to connections
vf
I was Parade Ring side when the fatalities occurred; and also saw the initial incident when Kid Cassidy ‘lost’ his hindlegs as he was being led around the paddock. It looked really strange.
I only saw the two fatalities after they had collapsed – they were ‘twitching’, just as they would have done had they broken their necks.
It was so wrong to run the first race as, although the vets had checked the remaining animals, can you imagine the outcry had anything happened to them or their jockeys? (The Merry Giant was very unsettled.)
A very bad day for horse fatalities – with not only Fenix Two and Marching Song, but also Kilmurry at Warwick and Money Trix and Glencove Marina in Ireland.
RIP Beautiful horses …
RIP Fenix Two (his very first racecourse appearnace) and Marching Song …
It was bad enough seeing a little and hearing alot about what happened but to those people actually there it must have been deeply worrying and upsetting … on the main thread I have been querying the decision to allow the two other horses affected to go to the start and one to actually race. I see you thought it wrong to run the race at all and that The Merry Giant was very unsettled – his trainer’s representative apparently wanted to withdraw him but the vet said he was OK and he ran but was traumatised after the race – horses can be distressed after any race I know. Similarly the vet checked Kid Cassidy and OKed him but the trainer withdrew him. All sounds chaotic – which since there’s never been anything like it happened before – is understandable. What seemed to be the general reaction to continuing with the race?I think everyone accepted very well the fact that racing had been abandoned; apart from a few ‘drunks’ who seemed to want their money back there and then.
Up to the point when racing was abandoned, I think it was a matter of confusion more than anything. Initially (I think when the surviving horses were at the start of the first, and only race) it was announced that the races were just going to be rescheduled – presumably swapping them around to satisfy terrestrial TV coverage on Channel 4.
I left the Parade Ring when the dead horses had been covered over, and the five ‘survivors’ who hadn’t already gone to the start were led out via the entrance near the ‘closed’ saddling boxes. These runners were then taken to the pre-parade ring to be checked by the vets and mounted.
I then went to stand by the course-side rails and I could hear people discussing the fact that one or other of the horses they had bet upon had been withdrawn; together with what sounded like rumours about a horse being dead.
Shortly afterwards there was an official announcement giving the numbers of the withdrawn horses; but no reason was given, presumably they didn’t wish to upset anyone in the crowd who didn’t already know of the deaths. Fortunately the remaining horses must have been checked thoroughly by the vets, as it seemed like ages before the last five horses joined those at the start.
On the big screen, they showed Nicky Henderson being driven down to the starting gate to speak with AP and subsequently withdraw Kid Cassidy. The betting market was then re-formed. It just seemed so wrong to run the race; two horses dead, one affected and withdrawn, and a fourth (No.9) very jittery and unsettled. Four of the ten runners affected … it was ridiculous.
And what if something untoward happened during the race to one of the 7 remaining runners, or a jockey was hurt or worse because their mount wasn’t 100% and no-one has picked up a problem?
When I arrived back following the race, the western end had been cordoned off with flimsy hazard tape and security guards posted. One horse-box was still at the Parade Ring exit point, presumably with one of the dead horses inside.
The 7 runners were directed into the pre-parade ring to unsaddle, and all spectators wishing to enter this area were permitted to do so, regardless of whether they had a premier ticket or a grandstand ticket. But it’s very close to the Parade Ring exit point and was presumably still a hazardous area, considering the cause of the deaths was unknown at this stage.
I believe the first plan was to continue racing but re-locate everything to the pre-parade ring but, regardless of the circumstances, there’s not enough room available in that area to accommodate the spectator numbers on Newbury’s second busiest day of the NH season.
It was around this time that I heard rumours that electrocution was probably the cause of the deaths. And, reflecting, I knew that made absolute sense of what I’d seen.
And its been revealed today, that both Marching Song and Fenix Two were wearing steel shoes, whereas The Merry Giant and Kid Cassidy wore aluminium plates. I’m not a physicist (although I’m going to ask my brother – he has a physics degree), but I believe aluminium is a good conductor of electricity and steel less so. Therefore, did the electricity discharge quickly through the two survivors, whereas it remained longer within the dead horses and damaged their organs resulting in death?
It also occurred to me later that, if all 10 horses had remained on the rubber pathway around the Parade Ring and the original deaths hadn’t happened, then the first one or two horses back in to unsaddle or return to the Winners’ Enclosure would have died instead.
As one of the unaffected horses, Yorgunnabelucky certainly lived up to his name yesterday.
It was a very sad accident which, following initial investigations and news updates, appears to have its cause well and truly burried in the past.
Thank you for taking the time and trouble to write such a comprehensive view. I shudder to think what might have happened if the jockeys had been mounted … and that bit about it could have happened on the return to the winning enclosure …
I was originally going to Newbury yesterday but decided not to at the last minute and am so glad I didnt – I dont think I could bear to ever go racing again if I witnessed that horrific incident. Perhaps one of the saddest things was the way several punters were laughing and waving at the camera when CH4 was showing them leaving – how sick can people get, no compassion for the horses whatsoever – shame it wasnt them that got electrocuted.
As for the trainers that wanted the meeting rescheduled to tomorrow, they must be mad or greedy or both, the course needs to be kept closed until its certain what happened and why, and if the horses need a run they’ll have to go elsewhere, no way should it be reopened until there is absolutely zero chance of such a terrible thing happening again. It does seem from todays reports that it was the aeration (?) of the ground that damaged the cable, and if that is the case why wasnt the cable reinforced if it was likely to be able to be pierced?
Whatever, all the discussion wont bring those poor horses back and what about the others who were affected, they will be traumatised and probably terrified to go back into a parade ring.
Then to discover on here that there were also deaths at Leopardstown – yesterday must surely go down as one of the darkest days for horseracing.
Can I echo what Ten Plus has said, and thank Jane of Herts for telling us more of what happened, as I’ve found it difficult to piece together exactly what happened yesterday, and, for some reason I need to know what happened to make sense of it. I was asking on the main forum about the difference in shoes, but the opinion seems to be that it was where the horses were standing that made the difference between them surviving or not. There are quite a few reports of horses being electrocuted; one at
the Dublin Horse Show, polo ponies after a big match, and a few incidents where their water troughs were ‘live’. It seems that being a four legged animal with metal shoes in an environment that is often wet or damp can be a recipe for disaster, and I’ve often noticed how much electrical equipment is around racecourses, especially when it’s being televised. I do feel quite strongly that there should be a plaque of some kind put at the racecourse with the horses names on; they were young horses that, through no fault of their own, were not given the chance to prove themselves, and it would be nice for future generations to remember them in some way. I know the racecourse will want to put this behind them, but it might be of some comfort to the connections of the two horses. Anyway, enough of my ranting on. RIP Fenix Two and Marching Song.
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