Newbury today

EC1 said:
I don't think it matters how much this is "played up"..horses getting electrocuted in front of racegoers is going to hit the news no matter what.
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Don't disagree with this at all but the way it is portrayed is important. The three main criticisms I read and hear of racing in the public eye are:

1. It's an elitist sport.
2. It's a cruel sport.
3. It's a sport where skullduggery thrives.

Therefore, a great idea that racing's ambassador to BBC News this afternoon was Nicky Henderson who was banned for giving a horse an illegal substance.

I firmly believe the deaths of two horses have been overplayed in the grand scheme of things and that racing's PR machine has failed yet again in delivering this story to the mainstream media. This might be a controversial opinion but it is mine nonetheless and I've seen much more offensive things posted on here.

As I said at the start, I hope Newbury find out what's caused this incident, fix it, apologise, compensate if necessary and move on in a dignified manner. I have deep sympathy for connections but I'm sure they don't want this constantly repeated in the coming weeks either.
 
Gamla Stan said:
Don't disagree with this at all but the way it is portrayed is important. The three main criticisms I read and hear of racing in the public eye are:

1. It's an elitist sport.
2. It's a cruel sport.
3. It's a sport where skullduggery thrives.

Therefore, a great idea that racing's ambassador to BBC News this afternoon was Nicky Henderson who was banned for giving a horse an illegal substance.

I firmly believe the deaths of two horses have been overplayed in the grand scheme of things and that racing's PR machine has failed yet again in delivering this story to the mainstream media. This might be a controversial opinion but it is mine nonetheless and I've seen much more offensive things posted on here.

As I said at the start, I hope Newbury find out what's caused this incident, fix it, apologise, compensate if necessary and move on in a dignified manner. I have deep sympathy for connections but I'm sure they don't want this constantly repeated in the coming weeks either.
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you have every right to your opinion Stan - although I'm not sure I really know what it is :)

to be fair..this isn't an every day incident..its highly unusual and so is naturally going to hit the headlines

if it weren't for the Egypt sitch it would have been first story on the 10 o clock news

i do agree though..it must be got to the bottom of
 
EC1 said:
you have every right to your opinion Stan - although I'm not sure I really know what it is :)
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Apologies, the thread has got off topic and I appreciate it's got a little confusing in the process.

Basically, I believe BHA/Newbury should react swiftly in dealing with this and get the actual racing back in the news by sorting out whatever the problem is that's caused the incident, reacting to that but also, getting todays card back on asap when it's safe to do so. I think the tragedy aspect of the incident has had too much coverage rather than the cause and solution of the incident which is paramount in my opinion.
 
Therefore, a great idea that racing's ambassador to BBC News this afternoon was Nicky Henderson who was banned for giving a horse an illegal substance
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I think the effect of that on the wider public would be less than zero

I would agree that the image is only so so with the public, but this would surely been seen as an unfortunate accident rather than complete negligence,
 
clivex said:
I think the effect of that on the wider public would be less than zero

I would agree that the image is only so so with the public, but this would surely been seen as an unfortunate accident rather than complete negligence,
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Disagree on the first point, Henderson very much represents the old guard of racing and whilst his ban probably would have passed 99% of people by, he still makes racing appear to be for the upper classes and the elite.

Indeed, it is seen as an unfortunate accident but as with any tragedy, the more it is discussed in the media, other avenues are pursued and negligence could come into play when this is debated in the media.
 
Perhaps racing should be publicly represented by the common man, like Noel Quinlan or Jim Best - family men, both, and salt of the earth.
 
Gamla Stan said:
Disagree on the first point, Henderson very much represents the old guard of racing and whilst his ban probably would have passed 99% of people by, he still makes racing appear to be for the upper classes and the elite.

Indeed, it is seen as an unfortunate accident but as with any tragedy, the more it is discussed in the media, other avenues are pursued and negligence could come into play when this is debated in the media.
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to be fair Stan - if negligence was the cause then I would want it to be exposed - you seem to to be suggesting it shouldn't be talked about as a way of covering up any negligence..if it was negligence..ie keep in house any cock ups in case it makes racing look bad

if thats not what you mean then sorry for reading that into it

it looks like a mystery at the moment - an old cable would suggest an unfortunate accident..which I 'm sure we all want it to be.
 
Gamala Stan - So you want the racing PR machine to tidy up two horses electricuted but you will be bouncing tweets off Paul Struthers the next time you think you see a non trier they are doing nothing about. Which is worse for racings image?
 
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Gearoid said:
Gamala Stan - So you want the racing PR machine to tidy up two horses electricuted but you will be bouncing tweets off Paul Shrutters the next time you think you see a non trier they are doing nothing about. Which is worse for racings image?
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Who's Paul Shrutters? Totally different debate, the amount of non-trying on the AW is shocking and the BHA's lack of action over it is appalling for racing's image. The BHA look at every piece of information passed to them where the integrity of racing is questioned, I can assure you of that so it's an important chain of communication. The lack of action frustrates me.

I've summarised my opinion and thoughts on the incident in my reply to EC1 and I'm going to leave it at that as I can tell when I'm sailing alone on one!
 
Gearoid said:
So your pro horses running on their merit but anti horse welfare?
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You're misquoting me now, I've said the incident was shocking and should be investigated and dealt with, I just think the tragedy aspect was overplayed ahead of the cause and solution.

Good Night
 
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Disagree on the first point, Henderson very much represents the old guard of racing and whilst his ban probably would have passed 99% of people by, he still makes racing appear to be for the upper classes and the elite.
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Thats just chippy rubbish.s ome can come across as upper class twits but not NH

So it would be better if it was rod simpson then?
 
a previously undetected cable ??, 30 yr old, ??
if that is what they are saying, i find that incredibly negligent.

if it was anyway connected to what a trainer said about the grandstand lights going on / off, then im sure whoever is in charge of facilities maintenance is for the bullet.

a 30 yr old undetected cable cant possible be LIVE. without being connected to something that IS detected.
 
What happened today is akin to a couple of football players getting electrocuted on the way out of the dressing rooms, a golfer being hit by a bolt of lightning etc etc. The participants in this case were horses. But it is something you don't expect to see and the unexpected is always going to shock more. The reaction from those in Leopardstown was one of shock and puzzlement. An actual race is not the safest place for man or beast but you'd expect to be able to survive the parade ring. But accidents happen.....a lady was killed around the corner from my work place last week when a branch of a tree hit her in high winds. Of course we all move on, I didn't know her personally. But it was a bit of a shock that it happened so close, it could have been me. And that dead horse could have been mine. Of course we will move on but the cause of it must be identified and if any negligence is found then the appropriate steps taken. I wouldn't dismiss anyone who gets very animated about this subject, either within racing or outside it.
 
Question for all you very horsey people.

If I kept ponies on a field am I running any risk for them by controlling their grazing with moveable electrified fencing run from a car battery.

MR2
 
Cantoris said:
My mate was telling me at Leopardstown today that this sort of thing is a regular event in milking parlours in Ireland. A little current going up four legs with a plate as a conductor means there might not have needed to be much of a current to kill the horses. Can anyone explain how the other horses were ok. Was it just one area of the parade ring?
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Apparently this sort of thing does happen to cattle. It's not the strength of the current as such that is the problem, but because a horse or a cow is a long bodied animal you get a different current entering the body at the opposite ends. It's the difference in current that kills the animal. Once off the rubber matting their metal shoes would give them no chance.

This is obviously an awful thing that has happened. At least they appear to have got to the bottom of it and it has scotched more fanciful speculation about stun guns, etc.
 
I dont think theres enough current in a car battery to do any damage (though if the horse already had a heart problem you might I guess) though you can get some that run off the mains - I should think if that shorted out somewhere it could be similar? (Im no electrician though - so what Ive just said might be a load of old twaddle!)

Its happened at other horse events too - there was a dressage horse (think it was at the Sydney paralympics) that died on its way into the arena - and Im sure Ive read things about horses being electricuted in their yards and in fields at home.

so so sad.
 
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Gamla Stan said:
Apologies, the thread has got off topic and I appreciate it's got a little confusing in the process.

I think the tragedy aspect of the incident has had too much coverage rather than the cause and solution of the incident which is paramount in my opinion.
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Can't agree with that. This is a tragic, unprecendented incident not a cruelty issue. Of course it is important to find the cause and solve the problem but it seems to me that the wider public should see how upset and shocked the racing world is by it and how much they/we care about the horses. To do otherwise would surely seem callous and unfeeling.

Having said that I was surprised at P Hobbs in his interview with N Luck on RUK yesterday when he said he would have been happy to go ahead with the meeting, bemoaning the lack of opportunites for horses to get a run. Rather insensitive I thought.

The idea that you can leave the dead horses lying in the parade ring, stepping over them so to speak, to carry on regardless is bizarre to me. Of course horses get killed, Kilmurry and Glencove Marina did as well yesterday but this was out of the ordinary.
 
montyracing2 said:
Question for all you very horsey people.

If I kept ponies on a field am I running any risk for them by controlling their grazing with moveable electrified fencing run from a car battery.

MR2
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No but sometimes I wish it bloody well did !! I have (well, will have as I've just sold her) an extremely annoying pikey pony who flips under two strands of electric fencing with impunity, either with a battery fencer or our mains power fencing - drives me wild!! Both cattle and horses have a higher degree of sensitivity to electricity, hence why electric fencing is usually so efficient. I prefer electric fencing, though, as if you do have a bad incident with horses running through fencing as does sometime happen, there's very little risk of damage, unlike more solid post and rails where truly horrific damage can result.

Great shame for all concerned yesterday and I am sure many onlookers will have been extremely shocked, as the noise the horses made was apparently awful - same happens when cattle are badly hurt, as if all the breath in their bodies is suddenly exhaled - horrid. However, at least it's now understood what caused the tragedy and it can be relatively easily rectified. Best of all, no handlers / racegoers were injured and so it's not a bad idea to be more thankful about that.
 
trudij said:
Its happened at other horse events too - there was a dressage horse (think it was at the Sydney paralympics) that died on its way into the arena - and Im sure Ive read things about horses being electricuted in their yards and in fields at home.

so so sad.
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I was told that 4 polo ponies were electrocuted after the prestigious Cartier Gold Cup a few years ago. Five being led away together in a set - girl leading them unharmed.
 
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