Scotch Thistle 133 Report post Posted May 29, 2011 It is common to see horses finish down the outside fence, especially later in the day, at winter meetings. If that's where the best going is, jockeys almost have an obligation to get their horses there if they're going well enough. Given that a lot of the outside fences are constructed of wrought iron or tubular steel or other unforgiving materials, there is a recipe for disaster in having tired horses slogging their guts out along the outside fence, especially with green apprentices aboard. Imagine if Patrick Holmes had been head down and arse up and Seaflyte had run into an outside solid metal fence rather than the inside aluminium running rail. Think of a rerun of an incident like Troy Harris getting smashed up after a fall into a solid wood structure. Perhaps there is a case for movable false outside fences, a few metres in from the actual outside fences, down the home straights for winter meetings. Or for the actual fences to have padding or deflective materials added. Or to have light uprights, taller versions of the inside "running rails" used by the gypsies, located a few metres in from the outside fence to give a buffer area. The inconvenience and cost could be small compared to the cost of ACC levies for the remaining lifetime of a tetraplegic ex-apprentice, and to the already-poor public perception of the industry. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MegL 5 Report post Posted May 29, 2011 Unfortunately the ACC levies will remain high regardless. It would be interesting to hear how many accidents there have been. I do remember quite a few years ago when I "flew" off a horse at the first fence at Waipa (very embarrassing watching the replay as I have never seen a jockey go that high straight up!) and the horse continued on, missing out the fences, and then wiped out the leader by taking him through the outside wire batton fence. There is also the odd horse that jumps them - Rotorua a case in point where the horse got out of the course onto the road. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...