Saturday evening saw the all-weather venue of Chelmsford lay on a bumper nine-race card. The first eight races passed by without incident. However, that all changed in race number nine, as the “lucky last” came within a few metres of catastrophe … and it was all down to a broken-down tractor.
Field Starts on Time, Tractor Not So Keen
Expected to provide an exciting finale to a competitive card of action, the Best Odds On The Betfair Exchange Handicap rolled smoothly into action as the nine runners broke alertly from the stalls. Focussing on the field as they rounded the first bend revealed little amiss. However, all was not well at the starting stalls.
In common with most flat racecourses, Chelmsford deploys a tractor to move the starting stalls onto the track before the race begins and off again once the race is underway. An important part of race day logistics, this process becomes essential in any race where the runners pass their starting point before they hit the finish line, just as they would in this contest.
Alarm bells began to ring when the unwilling tractor refused to kick into gear as the runners approached the back straight. By the time the field strode forward into the second half of the race, with the tractor still refusing to budge, panic began to set in. Needless to say, nine one-tonne animals, complete with riders, travelling at 40mph into a metal structure would have potentially dire consequences.
Fleet-Footed Starter Saves the Day
Whilst the events at Chelmsford are exceedingly rare, it would still seem sensible to have a system in place to alert the riders of the disaster lying around the home turn. Relying on the race starter to break into an all-out sprint whilst frantically waving a flag is a system which probably has room for improvement. Nevertheless, our heroic race starter did his best impression of Usain Bolt to make it to the home turn before the runners did.
Thankfully, his efforts did the trick this time. Spotted by the riders towards the head of affairs, the message filtered back through the pack, with all runners managing to go from 40mph to a halt in the space of 100m – just in time to avoid calamity.
Narrow Escape Sparks Call for Change
Happily, all runners and riders emerged unscathed this time, but this narrow escape will surely spark change to the race-stopping system. The immediate action was to void the race and return all stakes to punters, but it would be no surprise if the incident inspires improvements in the not-too-distant future.
One obvious solution is to have an additional steward positioned in the back straight when the race begins. From this vantage point, the steward would immediately be aware of any issues – either via watching the action on a screen and/or receiving a message from the starting gate.
The additional Steward method would likely receive the support of the jockeys, with Harry Davies (aboard Intricacy in the fateful contest) stating:
“The biggest thing which struck us was that there hadn’t been someone with a flag on the back straight, and we were all a bit confused as to why that was the case. Speaking afterwards, that’s what we all felt should be the case for races like this in the future where they go round past the start.”
Alternatively, tracks could adopt the methods employed across the English Channel. Taking few chances in circumstances such as this, many French courses employ a system of sirens and flashing lights to ensure the runners pull up at the earliest opportunity.
The incident has now been forwarded to the BHA for review who will no doubt attempt to ensure a similar near-miss isn’t repeated.
