Equine Law Blog

Another Injured Jockey’s Case “Bites the Dust”

Many recall the legendary “Secretariat” ridden to his 1973 Triple Crown victory by jockey Ron Turcotte.  Years later, Mr. Turcotte sustained crippling injuries while racing a horse at Belmont Park, and his litigation against multiple defendants was dismissed primarily because New York recognizes the doctrine of “primary assumption of risk,” and the court found that Turcotte assumed the risk of injury.  [That case was Turcotte v. Fell, 68 N.Y.2d 432, 502 N.E.2d 964, 510 N.Y.S.2d 49 (1986).]  New York is one of four states nationwide without an equine activity liability act.

Recently, New York’s “primary assumption of risk” doctrine supported dismissal of yet another race track rider’s case in Nigro v. New York Racing Association, Inc., 939 N.Y.S.2d 565 (N.Y. Super. 3/6/2012).  There, an exercise rider rode a horse at a walk on the racetrack grounds but was injured when the horse slipped on a section of gravel-covered asphalt that intersected the area, and the horse fell on her.  She sued.  Though she argued, even with expert testimony, that the terrain elevated the inherent risks of the sport, the court disagreed and granted the defendant’s motion for summary judgment.  In so ruling, the court found that the plaintiff, an experienced exercise rider, appreciated the risk of injury, and she was not acting “under the compulsion of a superior in riding across the asphalt road.”

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Categories: Liability