SIGNIFICANT INJURIES PUT TODD BANKS OUT OF ACTION FOR TWELVE TO FOURTEEN WEEKS

By Graham Potter | Thursday, May 17, 2018

Todd Banks, who suffered significant injuries in the track work fall at Toowoomba earlier this week, is likely to be out of action for twelve to fourteen weeks.

With injuries that include a broken humerus (the bone that runs from shoulder to elbow), a fractured eye socket, a badly bruised foot and scratches to the head and damage to the tip of the nose ... it would seem to be a contradiction to say that Banks was lucky, but he certainly feels that way given the circumstances in which the injuries occurred.

"Baylee (Nothdurft) and I were galloping two horses, " explained Banks. "I was on the inside. Baylee was outside me and another horse and work rider was working steady on the outside of that.

"As we got to them a collision occurred. Baylee's horse has gone down and it has gone straight into my horse and put my horse down as well and then they have both rolled and gone over the top of us.

"So, yeah, in some ways we were lucky because it could have been much worse for us," said Banks, who will have an operation later this week when he expects to have a plate put in arm.

Lucky ... but disappointed as a number of horses that Banks has had a good association with are coming back into work ... but, sadly, this time around he will just have to watch them from the sidelines.

* It has come to HRO's attention that there has apparently been an element of concern for some time from some participants with regard to the policing of safety protocol at track work at Toowoomba.

Talk of riders getting gamer and gamer, horses pulling out in front of other horses and the high number of horses working together given the confines of the track have all been mentioned to HRO as factors of concern.

Whether these concerns were ever communicated to the relevant authorities is unclear but, whether those views are justified or not, clearly this latest incident, in whichever way might relate to the bigger picture, provides an ideal opportunity to conduct of full review of such protocol.

**HRO did attempt to source information which would have allowed contact with the then unnamed track work rider shortly after the fall but neither the hospital or the Toowoomba stewards were able to provide any help in that regard.

Later, that rider Emily Granzien did contact Darren Winningham, who wrote the original story on the incident, via messenger. In that communication she confirmed she had suffered a tear in an arm muscle and was understandably very upset about the way things had unfolded. She further stated, "This was simply an accident. It happened in a matter of seconds. No one is to blame."

HRO wishes all three riders involved (Emily Granzien, Baylee Nothdruft and Todd Banks) well in their recovery.

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