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Do you think they’d pay thousands of pounds to purchase the animals, then thousands of pounds in training fees, vets fees, etc., without taking out insurance?
Yes, insurance for racehorses is borderline viable so many people don’t. It costs about 10% of the value insured per year.
I am sure that financial considerations will not be at the forefront of connections’ minds at this terrible time. Commiserations to all involved.
I got home late last night and was interested in the view of others on this lamentable day in racing … only to find that the thread had degenerated into a flame war. I could’ve easily have got sucked into the argument with Joncol but quickly came to the conclusion that, as Deep Sensation mentioned, he was attenetion seeking. The cure for attention seekers is ignorance and solitude.
As for the sad event at Newbury yesterday, one can’t point any accussing fingers at anyone at the moment. It was a freaky circumstance that appears to be the first of it’s kind. I thought the right decision was made to call the meeting off and my condolences go out to all.
I think Joncol had every right to express his views, which is why I didn’t want to ban or deactivate his account. I don’t moderate the forum so that the content fits with my (or anyone else’s) view of what is the ‘correct’ response to any issue. I might personally abhor a particular view but I try to set that aside.
One of the functions of this forum, in my opinion, should be to provide an outlet for views which are unlikely to be expressed in in traditional media. I think the forum, through the views expressed by its members, should challenge the establishment and I think we are doing our job when people are bristling at the comments on here, whether I personally agree with them or not (and I often don’t).
All that said, I also think we need to operate within the bounds of decency and respect.
Unfortunately Joncol stopped debating and started getting involved in turning the thread into a slanging match.
Racing Post report this morning:
However, Henderson withdrew the five-year-old after he went to the ground on his hind legs minutes before the incident, believed to have been caused by an undergroundelectric cable.
Inaccurate – he was withdrawn after he’d gone down to the start.
Speaking on BBC Radio Five Live, Henderson said: "I think our horse was extremely lucky as he definitely got the effect of it.
"I realised shortly afterwards what had happened to him and he was probably lucky to get back on the rubber walkway. He actually had a different type of shoe on to the other horses. It was horrific."
So why allow him to go down the start?
I know the horses were examined at the start but I do feel that any horse which showed any reaction ie "wobbled"/went down should have been returned to the quiet of the stable area and not allowed to canter down to the start. Two horses had collapsed and died because of something unknown at that point and how could any vet truely decide on the spot that the horses which had shown something not right were OK to physically exert themselves at all? I think the trainers of the 2 other affected horses should have insisted that they were not mounted. I am glad that the toll wasn’t 4 horses …
Racing Post report this morning:
However, Henderson withdrew the five-year-old after he went to the ground on his hind legs minutes before the incident, believed to have been caused by an undergroundelectric cable.
Inaccurate – he was withdrawn after he’d gone down to the start.
Speaking on BBC Radio Five Live, Henderson said: "I think our horse was extremely lucky as he definitely got the effect of it.
"I realised shortly afterwards what had happened to him and he was probably lucky to get back on the rubber walkway. He actually had a different type of shoe on to the other horses. It was horrific
So why allow him to go down the start?
Don’t think he means he realised shortly afterwards and then the horse went down to the start.
I think he means he realised shortly after the paddock incident and the electrocution rumours ( whilst KC was probably going down ), realised that the horse was fortunate to have made it back onto the rubber, and then the horse was withdrawn despite the vet giving him the all clear.If i had to choose one trainer to take care of my horse, it would be Nicky. The Master Of Seven Barrows and all that surrounds it.
Yes – I agree that Nicky Henderson seems a very caring trainer … and an emotional one too … and I like him for it. But I still think on this occasion he and the other trainer of the affected horse should have stood their ground and got their charges back to the stables … but I suppose I have to accept that by the time people had put two and two together re possible electrical fault rather than 2 horses having heart attacks at the same time – the horses had left the paddock … I was once at a point-to-point where a young horse having his first ever run reared up, fell over backwards in the paddock and that was evidently a heart attack …
PS I do not intend to become a Joncol on this point – I am just trying to understand the thinking why those 2 particular horses got to the start and one in fact ran in the race … who’s decision was that? The Henderson horse was withdrawn but apparently the other wasn’t allowed to be??? So can a trainer withdraw or not withdraw a horse ie can a trainer over-ride a vet’s opinion? – Nicky Henderson did but …
Representing The Merry Giant’s trainer Rebecca Curtis was her partner Gearoid Costello, who said: "He’s badly traumatised and the vets are monitoring him. The horse went down on his hind legs in the paddock but went down to the start.
I asked to take him out
, but the vets said he was OK. However, I regret running him.
Electric current sounds odd. Why wouldn’t any humans be affected? No pacemakers near the paddock folks!
It’s not funny, Chiswickian.
Two horses have lost their lives because, according to Bruce Jackson, a live cable has been unearthed in the parade ring.
If proven to be true, Newbury ought to have their operating license immediately revoked.
as a newbie i wouldnt normally swear but you are right out of order even big mac looked shattered at the tradgedy
but as an ambasador for racing he said it allI know the racecourse will probably want to put this incident behind them once they know for sure what happened, but I do think it would be a nice gesture to put up a plaque with the two horses names on so people could pay some sort of respect to them. I know horses lose their lives on racecourses, and each individual case is a tragedy, but, given the unforseen circunstances of this event, and the fact that their lives were cut short before they’d had a chance to prove themselves, I’d like for them to be remembered in some way.
Imagine if a this had happened a horse like Sea The Stars…it would be simply catstrophic for the sport.
The owners surely must get compensated for this lack of comptence by Newbury for losing their animals in a non race related issue.
I would imagine that Newbury would have the appropriate insurance cover for all eventualities.
It is just "wait & see" at the moment.
Regards
So why allow him to go down the start?
If I remember correctly from what I saw and heard yesterday, Kid Cassidy was legged up and sent down early – probably before anyone realised what had actually happened.
Henderson went down to the start because he was concerned. The vet checked the horse’s heart rate and said he was ok but bearing in mind the way the horse had gone to the start, Henderson decided the horse was clearly not right. In contrast, his other runner had apparently not experienced any problems, had gone down to the start fine, checked out fine and he was happy for him to run.
I don’t know if Costello went down to the start (the only person mentioned as being there was Henderson). If he had, he might have been better placed to see The Merry Giant for himself and insist on him being withdrawn.
It’s very difficult – if all you’d seen is Kid Cassidy apparently playing up (as The Merry Giant seemed to be doing), it’s nothing out of the ordinary. Provided his legs looked ok, I’d have done the same thing – put the jock on and sent him out of the paddock to get away from what was unsettling him. I’ve seen young horses sit down when they’re confused or upset. Sommersby has thrown himself over on the horsewalk out to the course at least twice (Aintree and Cheltenham).
Maybe the vets should have started looking at mouths etc but most of the horses seemed to be walking round at the start quietly, not doing anything out of the ordinary, and if checking them showed all the heart rates normal (even Kid Cassidy’s) then under the circumstances it wasn’t that crazy to let them go.
As has been said, Nicky Henderson loves his horses and proved that by going down to the start. If he was happy one was ok to run but the other wasn’t, I would trust his decision absolutely.
A sad day for all racing in my view , its obvious everyone did their best , but it has surely tinged British racing for this to happen at at all
Hopefully when the full story unfolds , all courses will take the appropriate action to ensure a repeat never happens
Ricky
I’ve just read that the horses who died had steel plates on, whereas the two that were unharmed had aluminium plates. I would assume that aluminium doesn’t conduct electricity in the way that steel does? It is a frightening scenario where seemingly innocent decisions taken on a daily basis can have tragic results; being in the wrong place at the wrong time, leaving home 2 minutes late rather than two minutes early etc etc. A situation where, I guess, we all wish we could turn the clock back 24 hours and prevent it from happening. If only.
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I’ve just read that the horses who died had steel plates on, whereas the two that were unharmed had aluminium plates. I would assume that aluminium doesn’t conduct electricity in the way that steel does? It is a frightening scenario where seemingly innocent decisions taken on a daily basis can have tragic results; being in the wrong place at the wrong time, leaving home 2 minutes late rather than two minutes early etc etc. A situation where, I guess, we all wish we could turn the clock back 24 hours and prevent it from happening. If only.
Aluminium is far more conductive than steel.
I’ve just read that the horses who died had steel plates on, whereas the two that were unharmed had aluminium plates. I would assume that aluminium doesn’t conduct electricity in the way that steel does? It is a frightening scenario where seemingly innocent decisions taken on a daily basis can have tragic results; being in the wrong place at the wrong time, leaving home 2 minutes late rather than two minutes early etc etc. A situation where, I guess, we all wish we could turn the clock back 24 hours and prevent it from happening. If only.
I have three electronic cigarette mods and all have bodies composed of aluminium for safety as they use sometimes volatile Li-On batteries. So yes, aluminium does not conduct electricity in the same way as steel does.
Aluminium is more conductive than copper, but ‘anodised’ [whatever that means] aluminium isn’t conductive. All very confusing with my non existent knowledge of physics.
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