The most horrifying thing about equestrian sports for those on the track, and the audiences in the box, is the accidents that take place. Some occur in a way that is meant to stay imprinted in our minds forever. Similarly, a horrific accident occurred at the Freehold Raceway track that involved horses and a pace car. This is considered to be one of the worst accidents to take place in harness racing. This incident was so serious that it was mostly Equine Catello Manzi’s last race.

A video has resurfaced of a petrifying accident that took place on January 10, 2014. It happened at Freehold Raceway Track which involved horses and a pace car that seemed to have lost traction and control on the icy track.

The terrific equestrian accident gave goosebumps to the audiences

Seven horses were seen entering the first turn in Freehold’s half oval when the video replays showed the car sliding towards the infield, taking a turn, and facing the field ahead. Only one of the horses, Civic Duty driven by James Clarry, who was the lead horse cleared the car.

The second horse which was driven by Hall of Famer Catello Manzi, and the sulky were seen crashing first into the car and then into a gate that was still completely extended. The horse underwent a punctured lung and cracked ribs. The Freehold Raceway director stated, “We don’t know what happened. It was definitely a freak mishap. Something I have never seen in 40 years in racing.”

It was something that is still fresh in everybody’s mind. The directors and other faculty members were trying to look into what led to the entire incident.

Inspection of the bizarre accident that injured the horses and the drivers at Freehold Raceway 

A meeting was held back then to discuss the entire accident and understand the situation. It took place in the Renaissance Room at the Freehold Raceway on January 15. The meeting was mainly focused on the condition of the tracks, medical response, and other major topics that were affected by the horrifying accident that took place. There were five drivers Cat Manzi, Debra Rucker, Vincent Ginsburg, Chris Scicluna, and Jim Pantaleano who were all sent to the area hospital and the sixth driver Rick Pantano was also checked after the first turn. The horses suffered various bruises and cuts.

Read more: Viral Video Shows Horse Rider’s Terrifying Accident and Landing on the Ground Like a Gymnast

It was inspected that track conditions were not of any problem for the first four races of the day. And there was no ice reported on the track. Still, the remaining six races were canceled after the incident took place with the fifth race. The Freehold faculties state that they had no idea what was the reason that made the car spin. It was seen that Manzi was the most injured of all the drivers and was in great agony.

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