NEED TO KNOW
A horse suddenly reared a jockey off its back moments before a race began Aug. 18 in England
The horse, still blindfolded, ran across the track with no rider and burst through a barricade
The five other jockeys now face 10-day bans because they didn’t stop the race
Hold your horses! Or face a 10-day ban, as five jockeys just found out in England.
A chaotic incident on Monday, Aug. 18, voided an English horse race and resulted in five jockeys being disciplined for failing to stop the race when one of their competitors suddenly bucked its rider and ran loose on the track while still blindfolded.
The race, which took place in Windsor, England, was voided after the still-blindfolded horse rushed out of the gate without its rider and burst onto the course before barreling through a guardrail near the starting block, according to BBC and The Telegraph.
According to video of the race shared by The Telegraph, the other five riders and their horses were already well ahead of the incident when the spooked horse broke free, and they did not appear to see the horse running wild on the course.
The horse, Master Zack, appeared to be startled by a sudden movement made by the horse next to it, which had anticipated the starting gates opening a moment before the gates actually did.
The three-year-old bay colt stood up on its back legs, sending jockey Ryan Kavanagh flying off its back as the gates flew open. Kavanagh reportedly caught himself on the stalls as the horse flew out of the gate.
The outlet reported that Master Zack required a blindfold over his eyes to get him into the starting gate before the race began.
A race official attempted to wave a flag to abandon the start of the race, according to The Telegraph, but the riders alleged they didn’t see the warning.
“I wouldn’t have seen the starter waving a flag as I was drawn wide,” one jockey, Tommie Jakes, said. “I don’t know why it was a false start anyway. I know a horse reared up just as I left the gates, but I didn’t think anything of it, really.”
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He added, “I did hear a bit of screaming at the start, but I thought that was when the one reared up. We just heard on the commentary and I didn’t see any flag, so I just carried on.”
Master Zack was caught shortly after breaking through the plastic barricade along the side of the track and, according to The Telegraph, was unharmed in the incident.
Read the original article on People
