A racetrack employee was more than lucky to walk away unscathed last week after a field of racehorses narrowly missed him as they raced into a turn at full speed.
As an article by The Paulick Report explains, the incident occurred at Golden Gate Fields on Friday, May 12. It was reported that the employee was on the turf course working on a timing system when the field of Thoroughbreds made its way to him.
The employee, who was later identified as Nixon Dang, had thought that the race was supposed to be contested over the main course, not the turf course. Luckily, the worker was unharmed, thanks to some quick reactions from jockeys and a racehorse that jumped over Dang, to an extent.
The incident occurred in the vicinity of the quarter pole during Race 5, a five-furlong sprint for fillies and mares that had attracted a field of eight starters. Notes on the official Equibase chart indicate that three of the lasses had to either be steadied, checked, or have their courses altered. The closest call came when a fourth horse had to partially hurdle Dang to avoid hitting him. Dang would later be fined $200 by the California Horse Racing Board for violating Rule 1881, which has to do with people being on the racecourse during a race.
Regardless of the way the dash shook out, the stewards that were overseeing the contest still allowed the race result to be made official. The stewards stated that more of the horses that were in the race had to be impeded in order for a no-contest to be declared.
(With files from The Paulick Report)