KEY POINTS:
Canterbury rider Judy Lawson voiced her concern about the Rangiora race track minutes before a fall in which she suffered serious head injuries.
Her comments are recorded in a 27-page report compiled by NZ Thoroughbred Racing (NZTR) into Lawson's fall on October 23 last year.
The report apportioned no blame for Lawson's accident despite the meeting being postponed the previous day because of a slippery track.
The jockey's husband Gary Lawson has described the report as a whitewash and called for an independent investigation.
The NZTR report said Judy Lawson made a comment to fellow rider Bruce Herd as they made their way to the start of the first race.
In reference to the state of the track, Herd said Lawson made the comment to him: "Not very good".
The race went ahead, Lawson's mount fell with 700m to run and she suffered a serious head injury.
She was in a coma for 12 days, was later transferred to the brain injury unit of Burwood Hospital in Christchurch and five months afterwards the recovery process remains slow.
The Rangiora meeting had been postponed on the 22nd as the track was considered too slippery because of light rain on what was a hard surface.
The NZTR report said the track was twice watered after the initial postponement and a horse was galloped on the track on the morning of the rescheduled meeting.
The rider of the horse reported to the trainer, Paul Harris, that the track was "patchy" but the horse did not lose its footing.
Harris started a horse in the race and according to the report did not voice any concern about the track and was prepared to run a further 14 horses at the meeting. The meeting was abandoned after Lawson's fall.
All jockeys in the race were questioned. Apprentice rider Jarrod Todd told NZTR: "Well there were a lot of jockeys who had walked the track and they still thought it was a bit iffy."
However, the report said other riders did not have the same concerns.
Bruce Herd walked part of the track with stipendiary steward Stewart Ching before the race. The report said he told Ching afterwards he was not prepared to say the track was safe.
But he was prepared to "try" the first race, which was something he was not willing to do the previous day when the meeting was postponed.
Herd said in hindsight he wished he had spoken up about Lawson's comment before the start. "I didn't want people to think that a North Islander had the shits and had ruined their meeting," Herd was quoted as saying . "I still feel a little guilty."
NZTR integrity manager Fin Powrie said in his report conclusion that Lawson's mount " ... simply slipped when galloping unencumbered by any other runner ... "
Powrie said of the 12 riders in the race, none had complained beforehand.
No to independent report
There was no need for an independent inquiry into the fall in which Judy Lawson suffered head injuries, says NZTR integrity manager Fin Powrie.
A NZTR report on the fall at the North Canterbury race track of Rangiora on October 23 apportioned no blame and said Lawson's mount "simply slipped".
Lawson husband's Gary asked for an independent inquiry from the outset.
Powrie said yesterday: "Effectively we didn't see any reason to have an independent inquiry."
He said the inquiry had been taken very seriously, but there would always be those who believed it was biased.
"People might gain that impression or perception," he said.
"But this is something we have not treated lightly or spuriously. We stand by the report."
- NZPA
