Sedgefield racecourse has been fined £6,500 after a jockey was taken to hospital in a horsebox due to a lack of ambulance cover.
An unnamed rider suffered a fall in the fifth race at a meeting on March 19 and after assessment by the racecourse doctor, the jockey complained of pain in his left collarbone.
He was cleared to ride in the following race, which was the final contest on the card, but following the finish, he subsequently reported increased pain and was given an analgesic.
The racecourse doctor decided the best course of action was to send him to A & E but all the ambulance crews had left the track and as his injury was too painful for him to get into a car, he was taken to hospital in the horsebox.
A British Horseracing Authority disciplinary panel found that Sedgefield had failed to comply with five “general instructions” which all racecourses need to meet under the rules of racing.
Other breaches included a telephone line not working and “tired worn rooms not conveying of a clean clinical area”.
The racecourse acknowledged errors in its shortcomings and an inspection in April revealed significant progress.