The Sky Bet Sunday Series heads to Thirsk

Thirsk card reduced to two races following incident in the first on Friday

Horse Racing

Fri August 28, 2026 · 7h ago

Friday's scheduled six-race card on Friday was reduced to just the two straight-course events after a horse slipped on the bend in the opener.

The field was well strung out after just a couple of furlongs in the one-mile AJA Novice Flat Amateur Jockeys' Handicap with 40/1 shot Calaxy, ridden by Jack Loughnane, racing freely just behind the leaders headed by eventual winner Hatamoto (5/1).

The first three took the initial turn well enough but Mark Loughnane's filly Calaxy slipped awkwardly on the bend and very nearly came down, leaving her rider with no hope of staying intact.

An inspection was held as some remedial work was done on the track but it was soon announced that all round-course races had been cancelled, with the six-furlong Ivegate Building Handicap at 16:00 the only remaining race to be run at the North Yorkshire venue on the day.

"Safety has to come first."

Thirsk clerk of the course James Sanderson explains the reasons behind the abandonment of four of their last five races pic.twitter.com/5JVeVavoNd
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) August 28, 2026

James Sanderson, Clerk of the Course at Thirsk, told Racing TV: "Unfortunately, those watching would have seen that a horse did slip entering the home bend in our first race. Following an inspection with some senior trainers, senior jockeys and officials, it's been decided that in the interest of safety we should not race around that bend today.

"Everyone felt it was just not quite right to continue, given there was clear and obvious evidence of a horse having slipped. Which is a great shame. However, safety has to come first.

"We are able to run the six-furlong race as it's on the straight course. So we'll run that as scheduled. In the meantime - the racegoers here - we'll be broadcasting as much away racing as we can and try to keep everyone entertained. We've already given announcements about our refund policy, and further information will be put on our website and on social media.

"Obviously we're very sorry, nobody likes it when this happens, but you have to be very careful when you're worried about the conditions.

"Hopefully, no harm done. I've seen the rider that fell and I've heard that the horse is fine as well.

"It's annoying and it's upsetting for everyone involved but you have to listen to everyone. They were all being very pragmatic, but they were worried about going out there again."

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