Lights go out during a horse race, leaving the race pitch black; two people are transported after falling from a horse, one horse is euthanized; subsequent races are canceled Kanazawa Racecourse: Tokyo Shimbun TOKYO Web

Around 5:10 p.m. on the 19th, there was a problem at the Kanazawa Racecourse in Nishi Hatta-cho, Kanazawa City, where the lights on the course went out during the race, causing three horses to fall. The lives of the three jockeys do not appear to be in danger. One animal was euthanized. The race was canceled and the tickets purchased were refunded.

According to Kanazawa Racecourse and other sources, the lights went out in the 8th race, when each horse was heading through the third corner facing each other, when the lights suddenly went out and the surrounding area became pitch black. As a result of this, the jockeys of three of the 11 horses that entered the race fell off. The two people on board were taken to the hospital by ambulance. One person did not go to the hospital.

Although the lights were restored after the race, it was determined that it would be difficult to ensure fairness, and subsequent races were canceled.

The cause was a mistake in setting the time when all lights were turned off, and a representative from the Ishikawa Prefectural Horse Racing Bureau, which organizes Kanazawa Horse Racing, said, “We deeply apologize for the inconvenience caused to the fans and related parties.This will not happen again in the future.” We will do our best to prevent it from happening again.”

Track lighting was installed at the end of March to accommodate races at twilight. The lights were actually used from September.