Jockey Chris Symons hopes to continue dialogue with racing authorities despite stewards in Victoria and NSW putting a stop to Ride Guide.
The stewards in both states ruled they would not consent to jockeys continuing their participation in Ride Guide which was distributed on wagering operator Ladbrokes digital platform.
Symons had spent the past two years developing Ride Guide, an online insight into jockeys rides for metropolitan meetings in Melbourne and Sydney.
Racing Victoria stewards tried to have the launch of Ride Guide for last Saturday’s Caulfield meeting removed but were told it could cause the Ladbrokes website to crash.
Jockeys, who were being paid for their comments, met with stewards on Wednesday hoping to reach a resolution.
But on Thursday, stewards said the riders would be in breach of an Australian racing rule if they continued with the initiative.
Symons said he was drained following meetings in recent days.
“It’s very disappointing,” Symons said.
“I’ll keep talking to authorities and try and sort out a solution.”
Symons queried whether jockeys giving an interview on a horse’s chances to different media outlets was any different from providing similar insights to Ride Guide.
Stewards said there were genuine perception issues given jockeys were being paid by a wagering operator, through media company Unscriptd, and that racehorse owners’ associations in Victoria and NSW opposed it.
