Eagle Farm meeting sensationally called off as jockeys refuse to ride after Robbie Dolan fall

Jockeys refused to ride in the last two races at Eagle Farm after Robbie Dolan was thrown off a horse which resulted in the meeting being called off.

Robbie Dolan falls off Victory Command in race 7 which led to the Eagle Farm meeting being abandoned. Picture: Sky Racing

Jockeys have sensationally withdrawn their support for racing at Eagle Farm, causing a meeting to be called off with two races remaining on Saturday.

In unprecedented scenes, a group of jockeys told stewards they would no longer ride at the meeting on Saturday after Robbie Dolan was thrown from his mount Victory Command when rival horse Power Pack shied and shifted out abruptly.

The issue, which was first raised with Brisbane Racing Club officials in February, is related to a new building being constructed outside the home turn.

It is not related to any issue with the Eagle Farm surface itself.

Senior jockeys say some horses who have not raced at Eagle Farm are shying at around the 600m mark in races.

It is understood 21 separate instances have been raised with officials since February.

A high-powered meeting of Queensland racing officials will take place on Sunday morning in an attempt to work out a potential fix to the issue.

Queensland Jockeys’ Association boss Glenn Prentice said it was a group decision between the riders to withdraw their support.

“The riders have some safety concerns in relation to a spate of incidents at the 600m mark over the course of the last few months,” he said.

“We felt as if it wasn’t in the best interests to continue on.”

Brisbane Racing Club officials raised the possibility of continuing the meeting only with riders who were still happy to race, which was quickly knocked back by the QJA.

Construction on the home turn at Eagle Farm which has caused some safety concerns. Picture: News Corp Australia

Chief steward Josh Adams said potential solutions would be nutted out on Sunday.

“After the running of race seven, senior riders expressed their concerns regarding safety concerns section of the track at the 600m mark,” he said.

“Following that, the riding group viewed the incident resulting in a horse shying and shifting out, causing Robbie Dolan to be dislodged from his mount.

“Following a meeting with riding group, stewards were advised that the group were withdrawing their services on safety grounds and the remainder of meeting was postponed.”

The remaining two races have been moved to Ipswich’s midweek card on Wednesday.

The 3YO QTIS Handicap (1400m) has been changed to 1350m and the Benchmark 78 Handicap (1600m) is now to be run over 1666m.

Fields will remain the same with all scratchings to be reinstated.

Originally published as Eagle Farm meeting sensationally called off as jockeys refuse to ride after Robbie Dolan fall