Jockey club starts to act

Action was today announced by the Jockey Club to tackle problems caused at the start of Flat races in the wake of the Epsom starting stalls fiasco.

Suggested new measures include increasing the numbers of stalls handlers and eventually replacing existing stalls with better-designed equipment.

The move follows the furore caused by the controversial incident at Epsom on August Bank Holiday Monday when six of the 17 stalls opened late but the race was not declared void.

Punters were left fuming after the result of the five-furlong Tote Exacta Sprint Stakes Showcase Handicap was allowed to stand, despite stalls 12 to 17 opening a fraction late.

The race was won by a length from stall nine by 14-1 shot Boleyn Castle, trained by Terry Mills and ridden by John Reid.

There was later widespread amazement when the stewards decided, after viewing recordings of the start and interviewing jockeys, that the faulty stalls action had not prejudiced the chances of enough runners to justify declaring the race void.

But the Jockey Club insisted that proposals to reduce problems at the start had already been under consideration before the Epsom incident.

'That incident served to highlight the existing problems which these recommendations aim to tackle and solve,' its report claimed.

The Jockey Club`s regulatory committee has made the following recommendations:

:: to increase the number of stalls handlers on duty each raceday from the start of the 2002 Flat turf season.

:: to ask the Racecourse Association to make proposals by March 1 for the design, operation and phased introduction of new stalls on all racecourses as soon as practicable.

:: for racecourse stewards to inquire automatically into any race that is more than three minutes late off.

:: a review of procedures and penalties for dealing with horses needing special handling, the introduction of a stalls training module on the trainers` course and a reviewof the concept of providing centralised schooling to stalls facilities.

Racecourse services director Tony Goodhew said: 'For a variety of reasons, problems at the start have become an increasing concern this year. 'We believe that there are a number of areas which must be addressed and that, if taken together, they should provide long-term solutions to what have been long-running and increasing problems.