The future of horse racing at Eagle Farm looks uncertain due to the construction of a residential tower on the side of the track, which jockeys say is scaring horses at the main turn.
In unprecedented scenes on Saturday, jockeys were forced off the track after Group 1 winner and former The Voice contestant Robbie Dolan was thrown off his horse and broke his wrist.
The Queensland Horse Society claims there have been at least 15 incidents so far this year when horses have become frightened and suddenly moved at the 600-metre mark when they see the massive construction site of the $135 million, 13-storey Charlton House apartment block.
View of the Charlton House construction site from Eagle Farm Racecourse. credit: Instagram: Asher Group
“All of these incidents are happening in exactly the same place,” said Queensland Horsemen’s Association president Glenn Prentice.
What the horses see on their way home to Eagle Farm.credit: Glenn Prentice, Queensland Horsemen’s Association
He said the Brisbane Motor Racing Club had installed mesh screens, but they had not had much effect.
Crisis talks were held on Sunday where it was proposed that a larger vision screen – similar to those used in cricket – be installed on the track.
“Every rider said that when the horses saw this place, it looked very majestic. [the horses] “They find out, and then they run from it,” Prentice said.
One suggestion to direct the horses in the opposite direction on the track was quickly rejected.
Prentice hopes the problem will be alleviated once the scaffolding and crane currently on site are dismantled.
“But we won’t know until after the project is complete,” he said, acknowledging that the presence of the residential building could be an ongoing problem. “Nobody can predict how the horse will react.”
Charlton House, the third residential tower at Ascot Green, is expected to be completed in December.
“There wasn’t any” [issues] With the first two buildings… but no one realized that. [this building] “He was right on that point, and he didn’t realize how aesthetically it would look,” Prentice said.
Comment requested from the Brisbane Racing Club.
