The Professional Jockey Association has called for a review of security on British racecourses after jump jockey Aidan Coleman was attacked and hit by two men who broke into the Weighing Room at Southwell on Tuesday.
Advertisement
A stewards’ report said: “The stewards held an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding an incident which occurred after the last race in the jockeys’ changing rooms after two members of the public gained access, and during which a jockey sustained minor injuries”.
“We will be reviewing procedures and increasing the security presence around the changing rooms and across the racecourse”, said Roberts.
We attended and arrested two men and a woman on suspicion of assault and criminal damage.
Coleman, who made a police statement, told a reporter that he was unscathed.
Fellow rider Paul Moloney, who witnessed the incident, said: “When I came into the weighing room after the last, there were these two blokes there”.
A Nottinghamshire Police spokesman said: “Four people have been arrested following an assault at Southwell racecourse this afternoon”.
“They were well out of it – they got refused service at one of the bars – and got more and more lairy as the day went on. Thankfully these incidents are very rare indeed but they undermine the confidence of jockeys and race goers, and highlight the importance of a responsible approach to alcohol sales and the need for appropriate security arrangements that ensure such undesirables are not allowed to remain on the premises”.
He said: “We are a major sport and we attract a cross-section of society and we are keen to do that”. All involved have been banned from Arc tracks. The safety of jockeys, as well as all visitors to our racecourse, is of paramount importance to us. Racecourse officials now believe the back door to the weighing room had been left open by valets removing tack, as would commonly be the case 10 minutes after the final race of the day, when the incident happened.
Advertisement
The report explains that the track had stopped serving the men alcohol halfway through the card and that they were being watched by track security.
