On Friday, May 7 at Rideau Carleton Raceway, Race 13 was the scene of a tragic accident which claimed the life of four-year-old pacing mare Barbs Beauty

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"We were racing out four-wide leaving. I was three wide and my mare started to go on a break," horseman Kyle Forgie, 20, explained to Trot Insider. "I tried to chase her to get her to the outside, but on my way there I hooked wheels with the guy to the outside of me. My mare and I ended up getting catapulted to the track."

The incident happened very quickly. Forgie and Barbs Beauty hit the track hard. Two other horses unseated their drivers and were loose on the track. The race was declared a no contest.

Forgie, who was very lucky to escape the incident without serious injury, told Trot Insider that his mare was not as lucky. Barbs Beauty, a bay daughter of Cambest, fell very hard on her side and hit her head, according to Forgie. The horseman explained that she died instantly.

"Just like any other horseman out there, you just hate to see something like this happen, your heart just breaks," Forgie said

Along with fellow owners Jamie Copley and Sebastien Quesnel, Forgie had claimed Barbs Beauty out of an April 6 claiming race at Kawartha Downs. The mare was making her fourth start for her new connections.

Forgie told Trot Insider that he luckily suffered just minor scrapes and bruises. He was back racing during Rideau's Sunday, May 9 card.

"Obviously, it (the accident) was in the back of my head my next race back," Forgie explained. "I really just tried not to think about it. It was in my thoughts a little bit when I went up to face the gate, but when a race starts you have to deal with the task at hand and be a professional."

At this time, no other information is known about the other horses or drivers which were affected in the accident.

Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the connections of Barbs Beauty.