Tuesday 7th October, for immediate release
REMOUNTING TO BE BANNED FROM 2nd NOVEMBER 2009
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.”
For further information please contact Paul Struthers, Media Relations Manager, on 020 7152 0166 or 07966 590105.
Notes for Editors:
1. The new Rule, B46, reads:
46. Remounting a horse
46.1 If during the race a horse is remounted and continues in the race it shall, on an objection by the Stewards under Part 7, be disqualified.
46.2 No rider may remount after a race has started and ride back to the place appointed for unsaddling unless
46.2.1 he has been examined by a Racecourse Medical Officer, and
46.2.2 his horse has been examined by a Veterinary Surgeon.
2. The figures relating to the number of horses being remounted are below:
Remounted Prizemoney
2000 12 11
2001 22 15
2002 32 22
2003 29 24
2004 40 29
2005 11 7
2006 5 4
2007 7 5
2008 9 5
TOTAL 167 122 73%
3. The HRA Press Release detailing the changes in 2005 can be found here:
https://www.britishhorseracing.com/inside_horseracing/about/press/regulationDetail.asp?item
