McCoy affair to lead to changes

THE Jockey Club may seek to provide its own medical staff at racecourses in the wake of the Tony McCoy affair.

Currently, British racecourses make their own arrangement with local medical practitioners, as was the case with Uttoxeter and Dr Andrew Toman, who erroneously signed McCoy off for 10 days increased to 21 by the Club's chief medical officer Dr Michael Turner on Monday night after a fall nine days ago.

A review of safety procedures and instructions at racecourses began last summer and is in the process of being completed by Turner.

"The difficulty is that if you have qualified people with a clear instructions, it is reasonable to expect them to carry out those instructions, and the instructions in this case were perfectly clear," said David Pipe, Head of Public Affairs at Portman Square.

"Michael Turner is currently in the process of compiling his report and making consultations, and there are a number of options, including the provision of doctors at racecourses by the Jockey Club. It has considerable financial implications, but it is a possibility."

Reports from Uttoxeter clerk of the course David McAllister and Turner specifically dealing with the McCoy incident are also expected by Tony Goodhew, the Club's director of racecourse services, within the next fortnight.

Dave Robert's, McCoy's agent, has offered his co-operation to ensure a similar situation to McCoy's does not arise again.

Roberts, who held a meeting with Jockeys' Association chairman Michael Caulfield yesterday morning, said: "Nothing is going to change the outcome this time, but what we want to see is that the Jockey Club are working to try to make sure it doesn't happen again, and I would definitely be prepared to liaise with them about it" he said.

"The main thing is that the whole thing is not swept under the carpet. It is a serious mistake and it is no good saying everyone's sorry and then allowing the whole thing to be forgotten about.

"We don't want someone's head and we don't want blood. We just want the Jockey Club to do something to make sure this kind of thing doesn't happen again.

Nobody is invincible and everybody makes mistakes. Someone at the Jockey Club has made a rick, and that happens.

"But someone, somewhere has got to answer. there is nothing we can do until the outcome of the inquiry is known, and I will be very interested in it."