Ireland's jockeys demand answers in face of fee increases of up to 350 per cent

Jockeys in Ireland have been left bewildered and demanding answers from the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board after learning of an “extraordinary” proposal to increase the annual licence fee by up to 350 per cent for some riders.

In a letter obtained by the Racing Post, the IHRB wrote to Andrew Coonan, secretary to the Irish Jockeys Association, detailing plans to introduce a tiered system for the annual licence fee.

The IHRB has moved towards introducing an increase of 350 per cent for jockeys who had 301 rides or more in their previous season, the top tier in a six-level structure that will see riders who had fewer than ten rides in the previous 12 months incur just a ten per cent hike.