Talking Horses: Heat needs to be turned down fast in sauna-gate

A solution must be found in the simmering dispute between racing’s rulers and jockeys over the removal of track saunas

DESPERATE MEASURES: Jockey Tom Marquand says some riders are stopping off at local gyms to use the sauna. Picture: Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images

Battle lines have been drawn and trenches dug in the latest dispute between the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) and Britain’s Flat jockeys, and the two sides seem set for a protracted struggle.

At issue is the racecourse sauna, which was, for generations of riders, a daily point of call until covid-19 prompted their closure, as a measure to prevent the spread of the virus when racing went behind closed doors. The Professional Jockeys’ Association (PJA) insists that a majority of its members now want the saunas back, while the BHA is equally adamant that it is not going to happen.