The future of racing at Eagle Farm racecourse is under a cloud due to the construction of a trackside apartment tower that jockeys say is spooking horses on the home turn. In unprecedented scenes on Saturday, jockeys walked off the track, after multiple group-one winning jockey and former The Voice contestant Robbie Dolan came off his horse and broke his wrist. Queensland Jockeys Association claims there have been at least 15 incidents so far this year when horses have taken fright and shifted abruptly at the 600-metre mark upon seeing the large construction site of the 13-storey, $135 million Charlton House apartment block.
The view of the Charlton House construction site from Eagle Farm racetrack. Credit: Instagram: The Usher Group “All these incidents are happening at exactly the same spot,” Queensland Jockeys Association president Glen Prentice said. He said Brisbane Racing Club had erected mesh screens, but they had had little impact.
Crisis talks were held on Sunday where it was suggested a larger sight screen – similar to those used at the cricket – be erected at the track. “Every rider said that when the horses see it, it’s a very imposing site. They [the horses] site it, and then they run from it,” Prentice said.
“Every horse that has had an incident has not been trained at Eagle Farm. The ones trained at Eagle Farm are used to the site.” One suggestion to run the horses in the opposite direction on the track was quickly quashed.
Prentice hopes the issue will be mitigated once the scaffolding and the crane currently on the site are dismantled. Construction, however, is not due to finish until December. What the horses see on the home turn at Eagle Farm.
Credit: Glen Prentice, Queensland Jockeys Association “We won’t know until it’s completed,” he said, acknowledging that the presence of the apartment building could be an ongoing issue. “No one can tell how a horse will react.” Charlton House is the third apartment tower in the trackside Ascot Green development.
“There hadn’t been any [issues] with the first two buildings ...
but no one realised that [this building] was right on that point, and didn’t realise how it would look aesthetically,” Prentice said. Comment is being sought from the Brisbane Racing Club. Another meeting is due to be held this afternoon with racing stewards, trainers and jockeys.
Racing is due to return to Eagle Farm on August 3, but it is highly likely races will be moved to Doomben, and possibly the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast. Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. License this article Development Horse racing Brisbane Marissa Calligeros is a journalist at Brisbane Times.
She was previously an editor at The Age. Connect via Twitter or email . Most Viewed in National Loading.
