It’s been more than a year since the race in question, but it has been reported that a rider in a horse race has been charged with assault after an in-race incident.
According to an article by The Telegraph, Magistrates in Tuscany, Italy have charged rider Massimo Columbu with assault. The charges stem from an in-race incident which occurred during the first of two Palio races that took place in July, 2015 in Siena.
Right at the beginning of the race, Columbu reached across and pulled fellow rider Giovanni Atzeni off of his mount. Atzeni and his charge had been favoured to win the contest, which is wildly anticipated every year.
The Palio itself is a lightning rod for controversy, according to The Telegraph. The races in Piazza del Campo have been contested since the 13th century, but animal rights activists have called for the races to be banned due to their rough nature. The races regularly see rough behaviour between jockeys – punching, kicking and shoving – but Tuscan officials now believe that Columbu went too far last year.
Some people are of the opinion that the situation has already been dealt with, though, as the custodians of the Palio suspended Columbu for 10 races last year due to the incident.
“It’s not the first time a jockey has gone after an adversary,” Atzeni was quoted as saying days after the incident occurred. “But to grab me from behind, that was cowardly. That’s not in the tradition of the Palio.”
(With files from The Telegraph)