Thorne loses Taunton appeal

Conditional jockey’s 21-day ban remains for failing to weigh in.

Conditional jockey Alex Thorne has lost an appeal against his 21-day ban from the Taunton stewards for failing to weigh in after winning on Twin Star.

Thorne’s case caused controversy this month – when because of Covid-19 protocols in place at the track, the jockeys had to take a different route to the changing rooms, whereas in the past they would have had to walk directly past the scales.

Unfortunately for Thorne, who carried out a winning TV interview, he went straight into the changing rooms and was disqualified and placed last as a result.

Thorne was represented at the independent disciplinary panel hearing by Rory Mac Neice – who highlighted the fact that since the resumption of racing and the new track layouts, nine jockeys had failed to weigh in compared to just three in 2019.

The 21-day penalty for failing to weigh in is fixed but can be changed if there are “exceptional circumstances”.

However, the appeal was dismissed by the panel who did not think Thorne’s case met those criteria.

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