Man risks death by standing still in middle of a horse race

A man in New Zealand has escaped death after running onto the track in the middle of a horse race.

The eighth race on Wellington Cup day at Trentham had less than a furlong to go when a man ran from the crowd, made his way onto the track and stood still as the 17 horses approached.

Miraculously, no one was hurt as the horses, which can hit speeds of 40 miles per hour, hurtled past the man towards the finish line.

The intruder was subsequently arrested by police following the incident.

A spectator at the event who witnessed the man jump over the fence said: ‘The guy was stupid. All the horses had to separate around him. It’s more about the safety of the horses and jockeys.

‘Everyone was yelling at him. There was quite a bit of outcry from the crowd when they were taking him away.’

Jockey Jonathan Parkes told NZ Racing News: ‘It was a bit of a shock.

‘I was lucky to miss him to be honest. It must have been about 12 strides before I’d seen him.

‘I was hoping he would stand still and didn’t move from thereon out. I had to decide which way I was going and ended up pulling on the right rein and just missed the bloke.

‘We were all a little bit in shock and a little bit brassed off with the person. We’re lucky no one got hurt but it could have easily been a different outcome.’

Jockey Danielle Johnson said: ‘He was lucky he didn’t get run over.

‘Most of us didn’t see him until late.’

Follow Metro Sport across our social channels, on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

For more stories like this, check our sport page.

Source: Read Full Article