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I’m lead to believe that Culhane has now started a 12 month ban from race riding.
He has been injured so is on the sidelines anyway. Will he still be able to claim compensation for not being able to ride due to injury or will payments cease at commencement of his ban from the sport?
Who funds payments to injured jockeys? Is it the Injured Jockeys Fund Charity?
I read previously (on Betfair forum I think) that Culhane WILL indeed still continue to receive payments relating to his injury despite being banned. However if he had have been warned off then he would not have been entitled to the payments.
Thank David.
Given that his punishment is essentially a financial one, I’m struggling to see how his continuing payment equates to a punishment at all.
I would suggest that if payments are funded by the IJF then better use could be made of contributions to this charity.
The payments to Culhane are made by the PRIS (Professional Riders Insurance Scheme) funded by a deduction from every riding fee.
Nothing to do with the IJF.
AP
Thanks for that Alan – is it true that if he had been warned off, then he would not be entitled to those payments.
Horse Racing: Culhane payments set to cause controversy
Published: 13/07/2007 (Sport) By Graham Green
TONY CULHANE will receive payments of £1,370 a week while recovering from a neck injury, despite being banned for corruption offences – a decision that looks sure to spark controversy, with leading industry body the Horsemen’s Group already promising to take up the matter.
The trustees of the Professional Rider’s Insurance Scheme yesterday decided to continue paying the sum to Culhane, who starts a one-year ban on Tuesday.
Under PRIS rules, the money, which comes from a surcharge on riding fees paid by owners, would be stopped if an injured jockey was warned off, but not in the event of a suspension, which was what Culhane received for aiding and abetting a breach of the rules, and misleading investigators, at a seven-hour disciplinary inquiry in London on Monday.
Paul Dixon, chairman of the Horsemen’s Group, said: "I can assure you PRIS wasn’t set up to look after jockeys who had acted against the best interests of the sport, which is obviously what Mr Culhane has, and we would like to look at this situation.
"If a jockey is found to have acted in breach of the rules in such a way, we wouldn’t want them to be compensated long-term for that."
Culhane, who has not ridden since a fall at Wolverhampton in April and had expressed fears he could be sidelined for the rest of the campaign, can now look forward to getting more than £31,000 before tax from PRIS coffers to the end of the year unless he regains fitness in the meantime. He insists he is unable to work and had pledged to fight had the payments been withdrawn.
Earlier Jamie Atwell, solicitor for PRIS, said: "I see why there could be some puzzlement, but the trustees are bound by the rules that make it quite clear that an injured jockey who is suspended is still entitled to be paid, although it’s a different story if a jockey is warned off, and then payments would stop."
Because he was only suspended and not disqualified, Culhane remains on the council of the Jockeys’ Association, whose company secretary, Ann Saunders, said: "Were he disqualified, I’m sure he would be approached and asked to resign, but we have a lot of jockeys suspended and under our terms they wouldn’t automatically have to stand down.
"It could be that this is looked at when we hold our annual general meeting in September."Thanks AP / Blue.
I’m lead to believe that he has now resigned has place on the council of the Jockey’s Association.£1370 per week…WOW. Poor old jockeys.
Let’s hope Tony Culhane donates some of his insurance money to the IJF (Injured Jockeys’ Fund) who have helped so many badly injured people, and families of those who have died. They certainly need the money.
And thinking it through, the IJF may have had their reputation for fine deeds damaged by all the confusion over where his weekly money is coming from.
So come on Tony ( and family), make amends, do something good for the sport, give generously to the IJF.
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