A bad day for racing

Well the topic header really sums up what was really a bad day for racing yesterday

The unfortunate incident at Newbury with Marching Song anfd Fenix Two being killed by what seems to be electricution, just when you think it couldnt get too much worse Kilmurry broke down badly in the Kingmaker when challenging Finians Rainbow two from the finish and was sadly put to sleep. Then to add to that the sad demise of Money Trix and Gencove Marina in the Hennessy over in Ireland.

Anyone watching racing for the first time would have been horrified at the sight of yesterdays action. It even got notable mention on the news before match of the day and that was before it went to the sports news so it highlights just how bad it looks on the sport

Hopefully the sport can make some headlines for the right reasons especially with Cheltenham and Aintree festivals coming up. Hopefully some fairytale endings would do the tricks

What do the rest of you think about yesterdays events? Do you think they should reschedule the meeting? Hopefully we can get some answers to what actually happened in the coming days.

I was already down after my beloved City lost 2-1 in the Manchester Derby yesterday but watching Channel 4 afterwards made me feel a lot worse

Cant see the meeting being rearranged anytime soon to be honest,until the cause is found beyond all doubt then Newbury is the original no go zone.Section of underground cabling was removed from the Western quadrant of the paddock earlier today but that doesnt mean a thing until its been inspected.My dads a marine/offshore electrical supervisor and he reckons if the cable was just expose ie.a bare live showing then this wouldnt cause any harm to man nor beast,it would have to be in contact with something that the horse came into contact with in that area,the only thing we could think of was the rubberized flooring-maybe this was held in place by metal fixings which had come into contact with the damaged cable? Its all conjecture,lets hope they get it sorted sooner rather than later.
Once Newbury had gone i must admit i lost a tad of interest in yesterdays racing and the events during and after the big profile chase at Leopardstown dampened interest to rock bottom.

Trainer Nicky Henderson thinks Kid Cassidy was "extremely lucky" to have escaped death as two other horses died at Newbury on Saturday.

An investigation has been launched after Fenix Two and Marching Song died in the paddock - while Kid Cassidy was withdrawn after stumbling.

The horses' trainers have suggested they may have had an electric shock.

"Kid Cassidy was extremely lucky as he definitely got the effect," his trainer Henderson told BBC Radio 5 live.

"It was something that none of us have ever seen before and we hope never to see again.

"Kid Cassidy was just walking round and went over on to the grass and knuckled over for a second.

"It does appear it was to do with electricity and underground cables and obviously nobody knew it was there."

On Saturday, a racecourse spokeswoman confirmed a cable, thought to be dormant, had been found under the paddock although she added: "We cannot confirm if that definitely was the reason for the incident."

On Sunday, Stuart Hogarth, operations director for Southern Electric Power Distribution, revealed: "A section of electricity cable has been removed from the paddock area for further detailed inspection.

"Our initial on-site investigations last night confirm there was no danger to the public."

Horses are far more sensitive to electricity than humans, and wet ground conditions may have contributed to the fatal accident.

Henderson added on BBC Radio 5 live: "It was one of the most traumatic five minutes I think one can ever go through.

"This game that we're in is all about horses and everybody loves horses.

"I think they suffered little. There was a brief moment when they staggered around and then they were on the ground and they died.

"One realised shortly afterwards what had happened to Kid Cassidy and he was probably lucky enough to get back on the rubber walkway and he actually had a different type of shoes on to the other horses. It was horrific."

Hero wrote:

Henderson added on BBC Radio 5 live: "It was one of the most traumatic five minutes I think one can ever go through.

"This game that we're in is all about horses and everybody loves horses.

"I think they suffered little. There was a brief moment when they staggered around and then they were on the ground and they died.

"One realised shortly afterwards what had happened to Kid Cassidy and he was probably lucky enough to get back on the rubber walkway and he actually had a different type of shoes on to the other horses. It was horrific."

It's all just so sad...it will take those involved an awful long time to come to terms with this dreadful incident.

I've been thinking how upsetting it must have been for any children who saw it happen, it must have been horrific enough for the adults to see but even worse for any little, horse loving, kids to witness.
It would have broken their hearts completely.

Solerina