Brian Johnston, co-trainer of Grand National Steeplechase winner Pentiffic, has lashed out at the violence-prone anti-jumps protesters who invaded Betfair Park on Sunday. He branded them an 'absolute disgrace' as their protests became physical at the final metropolitan jumps meeting of the season. Johnston says some patrons, including his son, had been physically and verbally assaulted by some of the estimated 100 protesters as they entered the racecourse He says: 'They got pushy and shovey here
Brian Johnston, co-trainer of Grand National Steeplechase winner Pentiffic, has lashed out at the violence-prone anti-jumps protesters who invaded Betfair Park on Sunday. He branded them an 'absolute disgrace' as their protests became physical at the final metropolitan jumps meeting of the season. Johnston says some patrons, including his son, had been physically and verbally assaulted by some of the estimated 100 protesters as they entered the racecourse He says: 'They got pushy and shovey here today, they're being thugs and they're being violent. They've gone beyond protesting, they're now verbally and physically assaulting people.'
Protests are mounting over those crazy new whip rules and already there are signs of official buckling...Stewards found not one jockey had broken the rules at Rosehill! Meantime, Jockeys Assn chief Paul Innes is calling for the Australian Racing Board to conduct an urgent review into the new rules. He says: 'Racing is a very dangerous sport; one slip in concentration could be fatal...'In the dying stages of a race, jockeys need to be concentrating entirely on their personal safety and the safety of fellow riders, not worrying about calculating the number of times they've moved their whip.''