Jockey apologises, trainer banned from British races over photos on dead horses

Horse racing’s image received another grievous blow on Tuesday when an Irish jockey apologised after a widely circulated video emerged of him straddling the corpse of a horse which had just suffered a cardiac arrest.

Rob James’ apology came a day after the leading Irish trainer he rides for, Gordon Elliott, was banned from entering runners in British races after he admitted to posing for a photo while sitting on the back of a dead horse that had just died of a heart attack in a training run.

Gordon Elliott confirmed the undated photo, which showed the trainer sitting on a horse that had just died.Credit:Fairfax Media

A hearing into the conduct of Elliott, one of the biggest names in British and Irish racing, will be heard on Friday by the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board, which is also investigating the incident involving James which he said took place in 2016.

James, an amateur jockey who won a race at the prestigious Cheltenham Festival last year, said his actions were “wholly inappropriate and disrespectful” and he was “heartbroken by the damage” he has caused.

“I sincerely apologise to the owners of the mare, the staff who cared for her, the horseracing industry and all followers of horse racing for my actions,” he told the Irish Field, a racing newspaper in Ireland.

“To try defending my stupidity at the time would add further insult and hurt to the many loyal people that have supported me during my career. I have caused embarrassment to my employers, my family and most importantly the sport I love.”

James said the horse in the video — a five-year-old mare — had just suffered a sudden cardiac arrest during exercise. Others watched and laughed as James climbed onto the horse, and patted her as he got off.

The sport was already reeling from the anger caused by a picture of Elliott, who was seen posing for a photo with two fingers held out while he was on the phone.

Elliott said it was a “moment of madness” and accepted his actions were “indefensible.”

Figures from across racing have expressed their shock at the conduct of Elliott and James, while also attempting to stress they were exceptions to the rule.

“Shocking couple of days for the image of horse racing but as with most things, 0.01% of people can ruin [it] for the rest,” said Michael Owen, a former England soccer player who owns racehorses.

“There are hundreds of thousands of people that literally worship their horses so this incident can’t possibly tarnish the rest of us.”

Elliott, one of the sport’s most celebrated figures in Britain and Ireland, apologised while confirming the authenticity of an undated photo that was shared across Twitter on the weekend, showing him sitting on a horse that had just died of a heart attack after a training run.

One of his most high-profile employers, Cheveley Park Stud, said it was “truly horrified” by the image and bookmaker Betfair dropped Elliott as an ambassador, saying his actions were not consistent with its “values”.

They were sentiments echoed by the body that runs British horseracing in a scathing statement.

“People who work in our industry believe their values – of caring for and respecting our horses – have been deeply undermined by this behaviour,” the British Horseracing Authority said.

The BHA said it was “appalled” and imposed the temporary block on Elliott training horses in British races while he is investigated by the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board.

In a convoluted explanation Elliott gave on Sunday about an incident that he said occurred “some time ago,” he said he was waiting for the body of the horse – which has not been named – to be taken away when he received a phone call and sat down on the horse “without thinking.” The image shows him in a pose, holding two fingers out while sitting astride the horse.

In an interview with The Racing Post published on Monday, Elliott accepted his actions were “indefensible”.

“Whether alive or dead, the horse was entitled to dignity,” he said. “A moment of madness that I am going to have to spend the rest of my life paying for and that my staff are suffering for.

“I will be punished, I fully understand that. But it absolutely breaks my heart to read and hear people say that I have no respect for my horses. That couldn’t be further from the truth.

“I just hope people can understand how truly sorry I am and find some way to forgive me for what I have done.”

The Jockey Club, a commercial organisation that owns many of Britain’s top racecourses including Cheltenham and Epsom, said Elliott’s actions were “not reflective of the respect and care that racehorses receive from participants in our sport”.

“The anger and upset across racing says it all,” it said.

Elliott has been a Grand National-winning trainer three times, first in 2007 with Silver Birch. He then trained Tiger Roll to become the first back-to-back winner of horse racing’s most gruelling jumps race – in 2018 and ’19 – since Red Rum in the 1970s.

Tiger Roll’s owner, Michael O’Leary, is one of the few to come out in support of Elliott.

“We accept that this photograph was a grievous but momentary lapse of judgement by Gordon,” said O’Leary, who runs the Gigginstown House Stud operation and is also CEO of budget airline Ryanair, “and not in keeping with our 15-year experience of his concern for and attention to the welfare of our horses.

“We accept Gordon’s sincere, profound and unreserved apology and we will continue to support him and his team.”

AP

Most Viewed in Sport

Source: Read Full Article