A no-show protest by leading jockeys has failed to disrupt horse racing at Wolverhampton tonight (Monday 22 August).
Jockeys decided to boycott the meeting because course owner Arena Leisure has introduced a new team of handlers to help in the stalls at the start of a race.
Leading riders have outlined their concerns about safety issues with the new team and the long-term prospects for the RaceTech handlers, who are currently used on British racecourses.
Arena’s racing manager, Ian Renton, said: “I fully anticipated there would be quite a degree of solidarity among the senior jockeys not appearing, but I did not believe this would endanger the meeting.”
Renton said he was still in discussion with the Jockeys’ Association to try and resolve the situation.
“We should sit down with RaceTech and hear their view to try to ensure we have a suitable solution for the whole industry going forward,” he said.
