A popular New Zealand jockey and mother of three, Rebecca Black, has died following a fall at Gore racecourse near the final stages of a 2000-metre race on Sunday.
She was riding Point Proven at a meeting conducted by the Tapanui Racing Club on the South Island when she and Misscattlecreek, ridden by Terry Moseley, fell at the 700-metre mark of the meeting’s eighth race.
Two of Black’s three children were at the track when the incident occurred. Police on-scene confirmed the death shortly after 4 p.m.
Rebecca Black was divorced from her husband, trainer Kelvin Tyler, but the two had maintained a cordial relationship out of a concern for the well-being of the children.
Black was just 40 years of age and had a racing resume that included wins on 108 occasions. She was a highly popular figure in those parts and the entire New Zealand racing community is mourning her death. The Tapanui Racing Club, after the fall, immediately cancelled the final two races of the meeting.
Terry Moseley’s horse was critically injured and had to be destroyed, although miraculously, Moseley himself was not hurt in the fall.
With the number of races safely taking place in New Zealand and Australia taking place on a daily basis, it is all too easy to overlook the risks the participants accept, along with the severity of the potential consequences.