October
MayOutside risk
Watching racing from Ballarat on Sunday May 10, the rail appeared to be off, with jockeys navigating a path to the outside fence.
I noted via the head-on replay after each event that at times horses were racing right against the outside fence.
A couple of things concern me with this.
The introduction of a plastic inside running rail, I assume, served a safety purpose. If a horse is bumped, hangs in, or goes through this plastic fence, damage is minimised to both horse and rider. A solid metal running rail will of course, do more damage.
So why is it that racing authorities allow horses to race against the outside fence? How is this not a safety issue for not only horse and rider, but also the general public?
We don’t allow patrons to stand against the inside fence, so how can you possibly allow punters to stand against an outside running rail, with upwards of 500 kilos of thoroughbred hurtling towards them?
The carnage, should one of these animals be bumped over a solid metal outside fence with a patron standing within one to two metres, is absolutely unimaginable.
Carnegie (Vic)