On Tuesday, the Ontario Racing Commission's Deputy Director Rob McKinney issued a statement with respect to the accident-marred race that occurred on March 27 at Flamboro Downs.
Flamboro's final race on the March 27 card was declared a ‘no contest’ by the ORC Judges following a first-turn accident that eventually led to a head-on collision later in the race.
The ORC's statement is as follows.
The following statement was released by ORC DEPUTY DIRECTOR ROB MCKINNEY on April 17, 2014
With respect to an accident which occurred March 27, 2014 during the 12th race at Flamboro Downs racetrack:
In addition to the two Judges officiating racing at this local racetrack, the ORC Senior Judge who reviews all races from its Toronto-based Central Adjudication (CA) Room commenced the investigation into the accident, which included reviewing video of the race and filing a preliminary report with ORC Head Office. The ORC then assigned its Equine Accident Specialist to the investigation.
The ORC Equine Accident Specialist has completed interviews of all relevant witnesses and officials and is in the process of finalizing the investigative report.
As part of its inquiry, the ORC sent the two horses for a post mortem analysis. Interim results were received. Additional tests are pending.
Such detailed investigations are now standard practice when rare accidents of this nature occur. This is in keeping with the ORC's regulatory mandate to ensure that the health and welfare of participants and equine athletes is maintained and protected.
The ORC will release further statements regarding this thorough investigation, as more information becomes available.