‘Nonsense’: Major racing club blames jockeys for track drama, dismisses safety concerns

The Melbourne Racing Club has dismissed any concerns about track safety at Caulfield Racecourse, despite images of jockeys lifting large clumps of turf in the home straight before Saturday’s group 1 race meeting.

The club released a strongly worded statement on Tuesday claiming the jockeys’ pre-race safety concerns were “nonsense”, and said a decision to move the running rail and delay the start of the meeting was unnecessary.

The MRC’s declaration that there was never any issue with the Caulfield surface comes in a week that they boasted of a record $281.4 million turnover in the past financial year despite suffering a $10.6 million loss.

Saturday’s delay at Caulfield came after a group of jockeys identified loose “plugs” in sections of the track before the first event, leading stewards to order maintenance staff to make last-minute alterations.

Plugs are large, turf covered clumps of dirt that are wedged into divots to make them safe for horses to run over.

MRC CEO Tanya Fullarton said an internal review “found no safety issue” with Saturday’s track.

“The turf plugs were correctly installed, the track as presented was safe for racing and the rail did not need to be moved,” Fullarton said.

“The track subsequently raced safely and fairly throughout the meeting. Dozens of exactly the same turf plugs remained on other sections of the track that continued to be raced on after the rail movement, with no issues for jockeys and horses.

“The jockeys clearly did not understand how turf plugs work. The jockeys’ claim that being able to pull the tops off the plugs somehow showed that the track was unsafe is nonsense.

“Turf plugs are routinely installed a few days before a race day and are always able to be physically pulled up, as grass plugs take at least two weeks to bind with the rest of the turf profile.

“This has been standard practice for over 25 years and is not a problem – they remain in place while horses gallop over them, with no risk to jockeys or horses.”

The club said former champion jockey Damien Oliver would now conduct an independent track inspection for this Sunday’s group 1 Manikato Stakes Meeting at Caulfield, followed by the same process for the $3 million group 1 Guineas on October 10 and the $6 million Caulfield Cup the following Saturday.

Oliver will report to Racing Victoria stewards before the meetings start.

“Saturday showed the importance of ensuring any concerns about a racing surface are properly assessed, with the appropriate technical input, before significant decisions are made on race day,” Fullarton said.