Building 'black hole' link to scared horses, jockey ban

A major racetrack has been shut down by a jockey boycott after claims a nearby construction site is scaring horses. Jockeys have refused to ride at Queensland's biggest track, Eagle Farm, over concerns the building site looks like a "black hole" to horses. They walked off the track with two races remaining at the weekend following a fall, sparking crisis talks. Jockey and former The Voice contestant Robbie Dolan was thrown from his saddle and suffered a broken wrist after his horse shifted abruptly at the 600m mark. The Queensland Jockeys Association claimed there had been at least 15 incidents in 2024 at the same stretch of the track and blamed the construction site. Racing Queensland CEO Jason Scott believed horses were being spooked by one of the site's buildings that was covered in black mesh. "The horses see that as a black hole," he told a Queensland estimates hearing on Wednesday. Mr Scott said they were working with property developer Mirvac and the CFMEU to change the site's mesh colour to blue but was unsure whether that would resolve the issue. "We don't have Mr Ed the talking horse to tell us exactly what the problem is," he said. Mirvac has been contacted for comment. Mr Scott said they had known about the issue for a "short period of time" and supported the jockeys' decision to pause racing. "We won't race at Eagle Farm until we have got a mitigation that the jockeys agree with," he said. Dolan, an Ireland-born Group One-winning jockey, was expected to be sidelined for weeks. "Broken hand but could have been worse, if everything goes right I'll be back in a couple of weeks," he posted on social media. It is believed only horses that have not trained at Eagle Farm have baulked at the 600m mark. Racing Queensland plans to trial and train horses until they are acclimatised with the race track. It pledged to work with jockeys until they are comfortable riding at Eagle Farm. Until then, races scheduled for Eagle Farm will be relocated to the Sunshine Coast.