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Marlingford,
Not only do the definitions of dismounting and remounting elude me, but I can’t even find out what constitutes a fall. Or an unseat.
I’d like to know from whence ITV got the information concerning the jockey’s feet touching the ground as the deciding factor. I can’t locate the rule on the BHA website.
I’m not going to argue with a deliberate dismount being proscribed, although it would be nice to find the specific rule defined by the BHA.
I suspect a fall or unseat is when the jockey loses contact of the horse and then touches the ground with a part of the body.
Thanks for that.
There’s nothing there covering falls and unseats, though. Even if they seem obvious I think they should be defined. The Gin On Lime incident highlights this. Plus, ITV offered a definition of a fall and I’d like to know what is their source.
Perhaps I’m being too forensic. I may be asking for the BHA definition of a horse before this thread is done.
Completely agree Seasider. At present dismounting only seems to be proscribed implicitly as remounting is not permitted. But what counts as “dismounting” or “remounting” is unclear. It’s obvious most of the time of course, but I’d suggest some clarity is needed given that there are potential financial implications for connections and punters.
This is also probably more important now than it has been in the past as the stewards seem to be becoming increasingly questioning of when horses should be continued with in races.
Rule 25 though……….
“After a Race has been declared ‘Off’, a Jockey must not remount a horse unless:
they have been assessed by a Racecourse Medical Officer; and
their horse has been examined by a Veterinary Surgeon.”
Should she have jumped off,stood next to the horse and called for the above and had her and the horse declared fit ?
Father Jack, rule 25 applies to horses who have exited the race and aren’t allowed to continue in it due to rule 24.
If the medical professionals give their approval, the jockey can get back on top of the horse e.g. to ride it back to the stables, but can’t rejoin the race.
To recap, before 2 November 2009 if a horse & rider parted company during a race the rules permitted an unconditional remount at the rider’s discretion. Since that date no remounting has been allowed.
Exemplified by the Blackmore/Gin On Lime incident, a jockey now needs to know whether or not their horse has officially fallen before they can continue in the race. In other words they (and we) should be fully aware of what constitutes a fall. What follows is an ITV opinion:
“…This has been discussed at length within the team, and it has caused some confusion. The whole issue was mainly about re-mounting but those with experience within the team were adamant about the foot hitting the ground, so in an environment where the decision had to be made quickly, we made that decision.
All rulings are available on the BHA website regarding the rules of racing.
etc.”
Except that BHA remounting rules don’t cover this situation, unless my comprehension skills are worse than I had thought. Therefore I’m curious to know how those with experience in the ITV team came to know about the foot hitting the ground being key in this circumstance.
Furthermore the BHA are yet to respond to my query. Perhaps they have enough on their plate at the moment. That said, I’m beginning to suspect that racing’s regulatory authority can’t define a fall. Include unseats and brought downs in that piece of speculation.
Thanks for the update Seasider. The BHA don’t seem to be very good at responding to enquiries. Even a proper acknowledgement would be better than nothing, and I don’t mean the automated message saying that they aim to respond within 5 working days!
I wouldn’t necessarily trust the experienced members of the ITV team to be reliable sources on the nuances of the rules (I know you are not necessarily saying they are). We see often enough day-to-day how jockeys and trainers are unaware of quite basic requirements.
Like you, I suspect no formal definitions exist for any of the terms you’ve mentioned.
Marlingford,
It’s worth mentioning again that incidents such as this can happen at any stage of a race, albeit with less scrutiny if it’s out in the country. Actually, it might have been you who pointed this out.
Come the New Year I’m going to pass this on to someone with better access to the BHA.
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