Racing public uproarious over Harrington Raceway incident

What were they thinking at Harrington Raceway today (Jun. 5) when they continued with a harness racing contest today after a horse fell on the first turn and his driver got pitched to the track and lay motionless for a few minutes?

That’s what many tweeters were wondering and several chimed in indicating their anger and disappointment that the race was not stopped and declared a No Contest when the incident occurred.

As the field entered the first turn, #3 Tru Lou, started to go rough and he then went down, pitching driver Jason Thompson to the track. With both horse and driver prone on the track, the starting gate car blocked them and the outrider rode inside the field to alert them to the downed horse and driver. The race continued and the field steered clear of the mayhem on the second lap around the 1/2-mile oval. On social media, it seemed unanimous that this race should have been declared No Contest for the safety of all.

A regular from horseracing twitter Buck Swope (@ShotTakingTime) had this to say:

“I’ve seen some sh*t, but in Harrington R4 Jason Thompson got catapulted from the bike & lay motionless on the track. Alarms went off and the outrider rode the pony like Secretariat warning the drivers.  Starter’s car blocked the accident & sent the field 6 wide around.  Official!”

Papa Beez (@PapaBeez) agreed: “That not being a no contest might be the most unbelievable thing I’ve ever seen.”

RayColevas (@graybrigade) also concurred.

“The race should have been stopped & declared no contest – dangerous & bad look.”

Ed DeRosa, who is Vice President at Horse Racing Nation, had this to say and he tweeted a video of the incident:

“This is disgusting. How am I supposed to say we care about the animal when this is going on. Reprehensible.

Both horse and driver did escape serious injury.

WARNING — ACCIDENT FOOTAGE

This is disgusting. How am
I supposed to say we care about the animal when this is going on. Reprehensible. pic.twitter.com/btKIAiCufJ

— Ed DeRosa (@EJXD2) June 6, 2023

Mr. B (@Mr_B_Harness) a harness racing Twitter regular, was also incredulous. His tweet:

If you bet R4 Harrington and you lost money you should just give up on gambling. How that wasn’t a no contest is absolutely remarkable.

“It seems that in this case, not one person tweeting was doing so because their lost bet but rather concerned for the safety of all involved and the optics of continuing the race. In the current climate surrounding all horse racing, Harrington management might be wise to review their process for cases like these.”

by Garnet Barnsdale, for Harnesslink