Man caught in front of race horses was not run over: Singapore Turf Club

The Singapore Turf Club have said that the man who fell over when race horses ran out towards him on Sunday (Jan 5) was not run over by them.

Previously, Stomp received a report that said that the man was run over.

However, the Turf Club have issued a statement, which said that the staff member actually picked himself up from the ground and walked away unaided.

Here is their statement in full:

"A preliminary investigation was conducted immediately after the race ended.

"The investigation included interviews conducted with the riders of the horses in the barriers and the official starter, and examination of the Stipendiary patrol video footages.

"It was established that just prior to the race start being effected, the staff member of Trainer Leslie Khoo, who had been attending to the horse Sky Empathy in its barrier stall, crawled out to the front of its stall.

"As the staff member stood up, in between Barriers Six and Seven, the start was effected.

"The staff member fell upon the opening of the starting stall gates, but then picked himself up from the ground and managed to walk away unaided.

"Although obviously shocked by the incident, the staff member was unhurt.

"He was examined by medical staff and was given medical leave for a day (Monday, Jan 6) as a precaution. He had returned to work on Tuesday morning (Jan 7).

"A further inquiry into the circumstances which led to this event occurring will be held at a date to be fixed."

Original article:

A man was apparently run over by a group of horses participating in a race at the Singapore Turf Club, which started before he exited the starting gate.

A video sent in by a Stomp contributor shows the man checking on the horses before the race last Sunday (Jan 5) when suddenly, the gate opened and the horses came rushing out, running him over in the process.

In her report, the contributor wrote:

"This video of Race 10 on Jan 5 was taken from the Singapore Turf Club's official website.

"I was shocked and could not believe what I just saw.

"The video shows clearly a man in a pink shirt who was trying to make his way out of the starting gate.

"I understand thaty he was a staff member from the stables who guided the horses to the gate for the race.

"What I understood from the video was that the race starter failed to make sure that everyone was cleared from the gate before he let the race begin.

"The question that should be asked here is why they failed to ensure the safety of the staff for this accident could have caused serious injuries, and maybe even be fatal.

"I hope that the relevant authorities will look into this to ensure such a careless mistake does not happen again."

A check by Stomp on Wednesday morning (Jan 8) showed that the video was still up on the Singapore Turf Club's website.

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