BIZARRE LOGIC OVER JOCKEYS’ BAN IS A RED FLAG FOR RACING

THE controversy over the seven jockeys banned for 10 days after ignoring yellow flag warnings at Sandown on Saturday has produced some bizarre logic. It has been argued the colour of flags to indicate a void race is the cause of confusion. Richard Hoiles, a racing commentator for ITV, even claimed it was an issue that racing’s signals conflicted with those in F1. ‘Yellow means slow down, no overtaking,’ he said. ‘They use red to stop a race.’ Yes they do, but so what? Jockeys are on horseback, not in cars. They know what a yellow flag means in the context of their sport. Stop racing, usually because of a serious incident, a stricken horse or rider. Yellow is used ahead of red, apparently, because of the prevalence of red-green colour blindness, particularly in males. So there is no confusion. Why the instructions were so widely ignored at Sandown only the jockeys can say and no doubt will in the course of their appeals. Maybe the signals are too easily missed, certainly if it is only one flag that is being waved. Maybe there should be multiple flags and a tannoy announcement relayed around the course to inform spectators. The idea yellow is the issue, however, is nonsense. Any jockey who is oblivious to that flag and its meaning shouldn’t be riding.