Rob James: Jockey banned for 12 months over dead horse video
- Published
Rob James rode Milan Native to victory at the Cheltenham Festival for trainer Gordon Elliott in 2020
Irish amateur jockey Rob James has been banned for 12 months, with the last eight months suspended, after a video emerged showing him climbing on to the back of a dead horse.
The Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) issued the punishment on Wednesday.
The IHRB found he acted in a manner "prejudicial to the integrity and good reputation of horse racing".
James issued an apology over the video last week.
"I would just like to apologise for my actions which were wholly inappropriate and disrespectful," James said.
James, who rode Milan Native to victory for trainer Gordon Elliott at the Cheltenham Festival last year, said the mare in the video died after suffering a cardiac arrest on a gallops in April 2016.
His point-to-point training permit has also been suspended for the same period.
The IHRB panel said James had shown "extremely poor judgement" and had a "complete absence of respect" for the animal. The damage to the reputation of horse racing was also considered when deciding his punishment.
In mitigation, the IHRB said it was satisfied James "was responding to peer pressure on the occasion", having been encouraged to climb onto the horse by a senior staff member.
They also acknowledged James' genuine remorse, fulsome apology and full co-operation with the investigation.
Last week trainer Elliott was banned for a year, six months of which were suspended, after a photo circulated on social media of him sitting on a dead house.