Neethling’s mount Latino Heat, who escaped uninjured, seemed to get a fright when the neighbouring horse hit the front of its gate and he then appeared to try and leap through the top part of the gate, losing his footing in the process.

Neethling’s arm reportedly has a clean break and he will likely be out for six to eight weeks.

The meeting had been delayed by a power failure reportedly caused by a fault in the sub station behind Greyville.

There was then a further delay as the ambulance had to leave the course to transport the injured rider. However, the last six races of the eight-race meeting were completed.

The main race, the Non-black Type River Indigo Handicap over 1400m, was won by the Dennis Drier-trained four-year-old Solskjaer filly Red Label, ridden by Sean Veale.

The racecourse floodlights at Greyville are not connected to a generator due to the enormous expense of such an undertaking, as it would either require one massive generator, or a generator apiece for every three to four lights.

However, a UPS system keeps the lights on for about four minutes after a power failure to ensure that they would never go out during a race.