You go to the races expecting to see horses, maybe place a bet or two, cheer for your pick—and then a kangaroo hops onto the track.
Yes, that actually happened on Monday at a race meet in Warren, a quiet town in western New South Wales.
What began as a standard day of racing quickly turned chaotic when an unexpected marsupial bounded onto the course, just as the first race of the day was underway.
Roo on the Run in the Middle of the Track
The race in question? The 2400m Warren Stayers Benchmark 58.
Eleven horses had just gotten into stride, and everything seemed to be running smoothly.
But about 1400 metres in, some sharp-eyed spectators noticed a small kangaroo hopping its way across the middle of the track.
Clearly in a hurry and making a dash for the outside, the kangaroo was dangerously close to the horses just as they were turning for the straight.
For a moment, it looked like disaster was unavoidable.
Just 10 Yards from Trouble
Riders Shannen Llewellyn, aboard Joshua, and Jake Pracey-Holmes, riding Will To Excel, were right in the thick of it.
As they navigated the turn near the fence, the kangaroo darted under the rail and bounded into the field, passing just 10 yards in front of them.
It was a heart-stopping moment. Miraculously, the little roo threaded the gap between the two horses and made it through without a scratch.
A Near Miss With Wolf Club on the Outside
But the excitement didn’t end there. As the kangaroo tried to escape to safety, it came dangerously close to colliding with another runner—Mikayla Weir’s mount, Wolf Club, who was charging up on the outside.
Thankfully, the kangaroo kept hopping and made it off the course without causing harm to itself, the horses, or the jockeys. Everyone, human and animal, kept their cool.
Will To Excel Crosses the Line First
Once the unexpected intruder exited stage left, the race resumed without interruption.
Jake Pracey-Holmes and Will To Excel, trained by James Ponsonby, went on to win.
Joshua, trained by Connie Greig, finished second, and Instead took third place.
And as for the kangaroo? Stewards confirmed there was no interference during the race—and the roo is just fine.
Kangaroos Have a History of Crashing Aussie Sporting Events
Believe it or not, this isn’t the first time a kangaroo has disrupted a race in Australia.
In 2017, a similar scene played out at a race in Cessnock, New South Wales.
That time, the roo even outran the horses briefly before veering off the track.
And the racetrack isn’t the only place where kangaroos like to make an entrance.
In 2018, a women’s football match in Canberra had to be paused when a large kangaroo decided to stretch out in front of the goal.
Fans even tossed the roo a football—and it hilariously tried to stop it from rolling in.
Just Another Day in Australia
With kangaroos capable of leaping up to 8 metres in a single bound, it’s no wonder they occasionally find themselves somewhere they shouldn’t be.
But no matter how often it happens, a kangaroo making a surprise appearance mid-race never gets old.
As the saying goes in Australia: if you don’t want to be upstaged by a roo, best keep your eyes peeled.