RACING chiefs are discussing a possible change to the weighing-in procedures after each race.
It comes after jockey Lucy Barry became the ELEVENTH rider to be disqualified since changes were made in June as racing restarted behind closed doors.
Barry – a 5lbs conditional – originally finished second on Amy Murphy’s Hawthorn Cottage at Doncaster on Monday.
But after Barry failed to weigh-in post-race the horse was disqualified and connections lost out on the £1,106 prize.
Trainer Amy Murphy was left frustrated by the stewards’ decision.
She tweeted: “Sadly, it’s owners who again suffer for a genuine mistake that has now happened on more than one occasion since temporary weighing rooms are being used.
“I’ve said it before why can’t this be marshalled to prevent incidents like this happening again @TheMelbourne10.”
Other jockeys have fallen foul of the new procedures since racing went behind closed doors.
Arguably the most high profile incident was when Alexander Thorne forgot to weigh-in at Taunton after winning on Twin Star and being interviewed live on ITV.
Since racing went behind-closed doors and courses were adapted for social distancing, weighing rooms have been moved at some locations.
It means at some tracks jockeys no longer have to walk passed the scales to get back into the weighing and changing rooms.
But since the Thorne case, signs have been put in place to remind jockeys to weigh-in and the BHA said that responsibility falls to riders.
A spokesperson said: “The responsibility for weighing in lies solely with riders.
“We have worked with racecourses to improve signage to remind jockeys to weigh in since the recent occurrences of riders forgetting to do so.
“Staff currently able to attend fixtures do so on an essential basis only, with many fulfilling multiple roles on a raceday in order to minimize the numbers present at a fixture.
“Discussions are ongoing with Racecourses and the PJA (Professional Jockeys Association) to explore options which may assist in minimising the chances of incidents like this happening again.”
An example of the signage that has been brought in
Other trainers and the PJA have backed the calls to have a marshall present outside changing rooms that have been moved.
But with numbers heavily restricted on course, it’s not entirely straightforward.
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