Stable worker dies after being injured at Kempton Park racecourse
On October 15th, Stable worker Ken Dooley (50’s) died at Kempton Park racecourse, Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, after being ‘kicked in the head’ by a horse. The incident itself occurred on Saturday the 14th and the fixture of 2 races were abandoned as emergencies teams responded to the incident. After police and doctors were called to the Sunbury-on-Thames venue at 9:20 pm, police stated that no suspicious behaviour was occurred the whole incident was no more than an accident. Dooley had worked for a West Sussex horse trainer named Amanda Perret, who stated Dooley had been in the family business for 7 years. Perret stated: “It is with huge sadness that I can confirm we lost our friend and colleague Ken Dooley after an incident in the stable yard at Kempton last night. He was an excellent employee, very experience with racehorses, having worked all of his life with them as a jockey, trainer, and jockey coach around the world.” Jockey Martin Dwyer also gave a statement: “Unfortunately, horses do kick out and I believe that’s what happened. They have metal shoes on and if you get a kick from a horse it can be very serious.” To show their respects, Jockeys and staff at Chepstow and Goodwood wore black armbands. Nick Rust, Chief executive of the British Horseracing Authority confirmed: “The entire industry will join in mourning over this tragedy. We owe so much in our sport to the racing grooms who provide such first-class care and attention to our horses. The love and attention that they give to their mounts is unconditional and comes with that small but ever-present level of risk that exists when working with large animals.”
Harry Aboud
