BHA Defends Move to Raise Riding Weights

The British Horseracing Authority has defended its move to raise the riding weights for flat and jumps races by two pounds, which was met with heavy criticism from jockeys, saying the decision was reached after consultation with the Professional Jockeys Association.

It was announced on Jan. 25 that minimum weights in flat races would rise from eight stones to eight stones and two pounds and over jumps from 10 stones to 10 stones and two pounds from Saturday, March 26 as a way of replacing the three-pound COVID-19 allowance that had been permitted since the resumption of racing in June 2020.

The BHA reiterated in a statement on Wednesday morning that the COVID allowance—which was brought in after the closure of saunas on racecourses during the pandemic, a move that has since been made permanent—was only a temporary measure and the new two-pound rise was agreed upon by the cross-industry Racing Group with contributions from the National Trainers Federation and PJA.

The BHA's statement said: "The three-pound COVID allowance was a temporary, emergency measure introduced to support jockeys when saunas and gyms were closed as an infection control measure.

"As part of the consultation regarding the potential removal of saunas, longer-term solutions were discussed to ensure that jockeys continue to be supported should saunas be removed."

The rise will affect maximum as well as minimum weights for all races, with the BHA adding: "The three-pound COVID allowance has not been removed in its entirety, as has been suggested. It has been replaced by a two-pound rise in both minimum and maximum weights in all races other than pattern races (where weights structure will be reviewed on a race-by-race basis) and flat amateur races.

"Decisions such as this require a balancing of the varying views collected through the consultation to determine the most appropriate recommendations. The resultant recommendations were then presented to the cross-industry Racing Group prior to being ratified by the BHA board."

The decision had been met with near unanimous disapproval by jockeys, with Richard Kingscote stating the move "is not going to help any of us."

Speaking at Lingfield on Tuesday, he said: "For two years we've managed with no saunas because of the extra weight, now we've no saunas and no extra weight. That's only going to lead to young lads throwing up. If you're stuck for doing overweight or throwing up, there's some young lads that'll make bad decisions."

The BHA's statement added: "The raising of the maximum weight in handicaps has the effect of shifting the weights up, meaning all riders will carry two pounds more than previously was the case in the vast majority of British races pre-COVID, and just one pound less than during temporary COVID measures.

"A three-pound allowance for safety equipment, introduced following the requirement to wear a level 2 body protector, will remain in place, as will a further one-pound allowance for all flat jockeys during the winter months to account for an extra layer of warm clothing.

"The two-pound weight rise was agreed by the industry Racing Group, which includes cross-industry representation. The process that was followed to implement these changes included consultation with jockeys, through multiple meetings with the PJA.

"This is an issue which affects more than one part of the sport, and as such consultation also took in views from other sectors. Concerns were expressed by NTF about the potential impact on some horses of routinely setting higher weights.

"The two-pound weight rise is one pound less than was requested by the PJA through the consultation, and is an outcome which reflects consideration and balancing of all of the conflicting views presented by the parties consulted with.

"Further to the consultation with their representative body, the BHA would of course be happy to discuss and explain the changes with any jockeys who would like to speak further with us."

An online petition was started on Tuesday evening calling for the three-pound allowance to be kept in operation and had garnered more than 800 signatures as of 10:45 a.m. local time on Wednesday.