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Here is a copy of a BHA Press Release:-
[i:254ila73]The British Horseracing Authority has confirmed that from 2nd November 2009 the remounting of horses after the start shall be banned. The ban does not apply to unseatings at or on the way to the start where the attending doctor and veterinary officer are able to confirm that no injury has been sustained by horse or rider.
The issue of remounting was last considered in 2005 by the Horseracing Regulatory Authority, which was responsible for regulation before the creation of the Authority. This followed on from the high profile incident of Kauto Star being remounted in a Novices’ Chase at Exeter, after which he was found to be injured. At the time the HRA did not introduce an outright ban on remounting but strengthened the existing Rules relating to it.
Since then, the instances of remounting have reduced significantly, dropping from 40 in 2004 to just nine in 2008. Of those nine that were remounted in 2008, five won prize money totalling just over £7,000.
Paul Struthers, Media Relations Manager for the Authority, said:
“This rule change is the result of a recommendation from our Welfare and Training Group, which was approved by our Board, because of the indisputable risk to both horse and jockey.
“It seemed perverse that a jockey who had fallen in a race needed to be cleared by the Racecourse Medical Officer before riding again that day but could remount a horse having fallen without being given the same clearance.
“Of course there are possible consequences to racing if no result is returned in a high profile race, coupled with the potential loss of prize money earnings. However, the risks of allowing remounting to continue far outweigh the possible downsides, particularly given that all bets are void if there are no finishers in a race and that there are few instances of remounting anyway.”[/color:254ila73]
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What happens if AP is a distance clear in The Grand National, gets a soft fall at the last, remounts and wins the race hard held by a distance?
Does he get to keep the race and get a small suspension or what?It’s precisely to deal with the situation of McCoy remounting in the National that they’ve decided to do this on ‘health and safety grounds.’
What would McCoy remounting on Blowing Wind have cost horse racing under a GPT-based levy system? Half a million, a million even?
No, best to ban him from remounting and only pay out on two places in a forty runner field.
What happens if AP is a distance clear in The Grand National, gets a soft fall at the last, remounts and wins the race hard held by a distance?
Does he get to keep the race and get a small suspension or what?The horse is disqualified, and AP gets a ban.
This new rule is eminently sensible, imo.
It must be based on common sense and what is the best thing to do.
For example if a horse in a 3 runner chase is 40l clear comes to the last then puts the brakes on and the horse throws off the jockey who lands safely on the floor and gets up with everything ok then he should be aloud to get back on and try again.
But if on Heavy ground a horse crashes through a fence and lands on the ground then gets up after 10-20 seconds then no remount should be the rule.
Common sense must prevail, Of course the safety of the horse is paramount but quite a few small owners could be annoyed if the chance to get a few quid back goes begging because of the new ruling.
It’s the sensible option to have a blanket ban IMO. There are so many factors involved in making the decision whether to remount or not, and that decision has to be made in s aplit second under pressure, that it makes perfect sense to release the jockey from having to make it.
For once the BHA have got something right. You shouldn’t be allowed to remount – not least because you’ve failed to complete the course on the first attempt. People always state about how jumping is so important in jump races and it is now. I heard Matt Chapman and Luke Harvey trying to justify remounting as exiting on the Sunday Forum on ATR. I personally fail to see what is exciting about a horse who could be injured being remounted by a jockey who, in most cases, is being greedy. It is just illogical that National Hunt racing has done a heck of a lot of safety work and would still allow remounting.
Agree with the BHA’s decision and given remounting has always been a rarish occurence anyway, more so since Kauto Star, it is hardly a change in the Rules of seismic proportions.Totally disagree.
Jockeys are horsemen and sensible people. They can be trusted to make a rational decision as to the merits of remounting. This is nanny-statism of the worst kind and is symptomatic of how society is going. I can guarantee we won’t be following this lead in Ireland.It’s been banned in eventing for a few years no. Initially you could remount after one unseat, but not two and a horse fall was automatic elimination. Now all falls are elimination and the sport is none the worse for it. Neither will National Hunt racing. For once an eminently sensible decision.
Totally disagree.
Jockeys are horsemen and sensible people. They can be trusted to make a rational decision as to the merits of remounting. This is nanny-statism of the worst kind and is symptomatic of how society is going. I can guarantee we won’t be following this lead in Ireland.And how can you be sure jockeys will get it right 100% of the time? What is the motive for re mounting anyway? That’s right, it’s just money. What else can it be? I doubt any owner would exert any pressure on a jockey and tell them to re mount if possible. I don’t see the harm if I were a jockey of accepting the fall/UR, hoping the horse gets up and allowing them to be checked over by the vet. There’s a good chance hopefully of another day. It’s surely a better idea than re mounting and asking the horse to make another effort.
Logically and consistently, does this also mean that jockeys can’t remount and hack back to the unsaddling area, without a vet having had a look at the horse first?
"Jockeys are horsemen and sensible people…………"
Not sure about the second part of that statement,Carvs. If they were sensible would they be jump jockeys?
You are probably right in thinking that the rule will never be adopted in Ireland.
Colin
Totally disagree.
Jockeys are horsemen and sensible people. They can be trusted to make a rational decision as to the merits of remounting. This is nanny-statism of the worst kind and is symptomatic of how society is going. I can guarantee we won’t be following this lead in Ireland.That’s why I sid there’s so many factors involved in making the decision. It’s not just the welfare of the horse, it’s the money involved, will the owner/trainer have a go at you if you do/don’t get up again, and all this in about five seconds. There’s no way you can make a rational decision in that length of time.
What happens if AP is a distance clear in The Grand National, gets a soft fall at the last, remounts and wins the race hard held by a distance?
Does he get to keep the race and get a small suspension or what?The horse is disqualified, and AP gets a ban.
Where does it say the horse will be disqualified please? I can’t see it in the BHA statement, why it would result in disqualification as this doesn’t occur for other breaking of the rules such as using your whip in a hands and heels race or careless riding.
I would have thought there would have been some consultation with the professionals in the sport before such a decision was made.
How many other countries are they banned from remounting?
One wonders why noises have been made about harmonisation of stewards enquiries rules throughout Europe when Britain is prepared to go it alone on issues such as this.
Does anyone know what the penalty will be for breaking this rule?Remarkably, this seems to have been announced without any consideration of the associated penalties having been made.
There is a current rule that requires riders to check that a horse isn’t injured before remounting, with the usual options of fines and bans available to local stewards.
But the recently produced new online rules haven’t been updated to reflect this PR announcement and the link to ‘forthcoming rule changes’ states there are no changes planned at present!
Logic would suggest that if the sole reason for remounting is to obtain prize money, then any penalty other than immediate disqualification is no deterrent at all. And if the horse isn’t to be disqualified, then the knowledge that connections have had a bet would also be an incentive to ignore the rule and get back on board.
AP
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