DAVID THISELTON
PHUMELELA have conducted an inquiry into the incident in race seven at Turffontein on Sunday in which the jockeys were confused by the ambulance siren being activated shortly after the horses had jumped.
In the NHA enquiry it was discovered that seven of the eight jockeys had heard the siren and some of them had consequently stopped riding.
The race was declared null and void.
However, the ambulance company does not fall under the NHA’s jurisdiction so a further inquiry into the matter had to be done by the operator.
Medi Response consequently sent the following report to Phumelela:
1. You requested an investigation into an incident whereby the racing
ambulance’s siren was allegedly activated immediately after the starter
released the gates for Race 7 [of 10 August 2020] held at the Turffontein
Racecourse.
2. This report serves to record the findings of our investigation into the
abovementioned incident.
3. We can confirm that the siren of the racing ambulance was activated after the
gates were released during Race 7 on 10 August 2020.
4. We are further able to report the following findings to you for consideration in
the matter:
4.1 The personnel involved reported the incident to Medi Response
management on the same day as the issue arising. To this extent, a
statement was received from the driver, while the crew was also interviewed
by the undersigned writer.
4.2 Our conclusion is that the siren was activated accidentally while the
ambulance was manoeuvring around a stationary vehicle (now identified as
the veterinary vehicle) in order to follow the string of horses in-running.
4.2.1 TAKE NOTE: emergency vehicle sirens are often wired (via the
vehicle’s steering column) to the hooter on the steering wheel for
ease of activation when needing to respond to an emergency. The
vehicle deployed at Turffontein on 10 August 2020 has such a
configuration (i.e. the siren is activated through the steering wheel).
4.3 In addition to the above-mentioned stationary vehicle, there were some
pedestrians standing (and seated) on the inside track that is generally used
by the ambulance during races.
