The world’s changed… but the weighing room hasn’t changed with it

TWO jockeys were involved in this case but the outcome has ramifications for all jockeys — male and female. The fact an independent panel found Robbie Dunne guilty of the most serious charge of bringing horse racing into disrepute could not have been worse for him, the sport or his fellow riders. What will stagger those watching is that Dunne carried out a long and sustained campaign of bullying against Bryony Frost but no other jockey felt the need to intervene and tell him to stop or even moderate his behaviour. And it wasn’t just Frost. The panel described the evidence of amateur rider Hannah Welch, who said Dunne had reduced her to tears in front of fellow riders, as persuasive. Panel chair Brian Barker was damning when he spoke of the weighing-room culture which allowed Dunne to remove his towel, expose and shake himself in front of Frost. Barker said the panel feared the attitudes within the weighing room were ‘deeprooted and coercive’ and ‘not conducive to the good health and development’ of modern-day racing. Dunne may have had issues with how Frost rides and those may be shared by other riders, but that did not give him the right to fire volleys of vile language and threats in her direction. Dunne’s defence team attempted to make the case that Frost was either making up or exaggerating the misogynistic behaviour — and they failed. Champion trainer Paul Nicholls, who employs Frost, said the world had moved on but the weighing room had not moved with it. That seems right. The Professional Jockeys Association have a code of conduct for the weighing room being free from fear, intimidation and discrimination. The sight of a tearful female jockey giving evidence showed that code had not worked.

The code also says any complaints should be handed to a member of the PJA team before being given to an independent mediation service. That means having to complain to a jockeys’ organisation in the first instance, hardly something a rider might feel confident to do. There needs to be greater independence from the start — an independent point of contact so a complainant can speak out or confide in without fear. The outdated physical structures of Britain’s weighing rooms which mean female jockeys sometimes have to mix in male changing rooms are belatedly being addressed. As Dunne faces up to his ban, Frost must continue to work in an environment she says has shunned her. Somehow bridges must be rebuilt. That is a short-term priority. In the longer-term, the mantra ‘what goes on in the weighing room has to stay there’ must also be updated. This case has made it look like a chamber of secrecy and an unhealthy one at that.