Queensland jockeys have shocked plenty of people around the country with a horrible display of organisation and attention to detail as a group.
Of around 250 or so registered riders in the state a full 66 failed to renew their licences by the due date.
Even when you take out those riders who have no intention of riding on, a nearly 25% failure rate means there’s something seriously wrong with the attitude of plenty of jockeys.
There are no excuses about not knowing the conditions either, riders were first notified of their commitments on April 15th this year.
They were reminded again on May 20th and then once again on May 23rd, a full week before the deadline.
Not only do jockeys receive a $100 discount if they had registered by May 31st, they also had their contact details listed in July’s Racing Magazine, a crucial advertisement for potentially securing rides.
In addition to the direct notification by mail and text message, details about the deadline were also plastered across Facebook and Twitter meaning it’s virtually impossible that anyone simply slipped through the nets of communications.
Those that missed the due date for submitting their paperwork were notified again, this time on June 2nd that if they failed to do so they would be unable to ride.
They were given a mull month of leeway, plenty more than they needed before Racing Queensland finally had enough last weekend.
There were a number of jockeys scheduled to ride on Saturday including Rick McMahon and Mathew Gray, two experienced riders who had engagements at the Caloundra Cup Day feature meeting.
While it certainly also punishes the trainers and connections of the horse they were scheduled to ride, Racing Queensland had no choice but to act.
This is not only because they missed the deadline by a month, it’s because without a valid license the riders are not covered by insurance.
One man who was very lucky to not suffer the same fate was Ryan Wiggins.
He too failed to submit his paperwork on time and still hadn’t done so on the day before the Caloundra Cup.
He managed to catch a break though and his forms were fast tracked allowing him to take his spot on the day.
He made the most of it and managed to win the Caloundra Cup with Spechenka, something he came so close to missing out on.
