Two Classic-winning jockeys have blasted changes to riding weights saying it will encourage "flipping" where riders forces themselves to be sick.
From March 26, the minimum weight on the Flat will go up to 8st 2lb, and rise to 10st 2lb over jumps from April 29.
But the 3lb allowance granted to riders when racecourse saunas were out of use during the COVID-19 pandemic has been scrapped.
And with saunas closed permanently from November, the British Horseracing Authority announcement has met with an angry response from the weighing room.
Warning the changes risked a return to “flipping” – where jockeys deliberately vomit after eating to control their weight – Tom Marquand said: “It’s a step back – a kick in the teeth for everyone.
“It’s all well and good them taking away the saunas and saying it will be healthier but without the extra weight allowance it’s in danger of being even less healthy than before.
“Apprentices that are panicking that they can’t do the weight on their boss’s horse? They are not thinking sensible or healthy – they are thinking, ‘How am I going to do the weight?’
“One of the easiest ways to do that is flipping.”
Adam Kirby, who rode Adayar to victory in the Cazoo Derby last June, agreed: “They made us do a survey and 88% were in favour of keeping the 3lb and not having the sauna.
“That’s what we chose and now it’s been taken away from us and the sauna, which is ridiculous.
“The sauna should never have been taken away.”
But the British Horseracing Authority's Chief Medical Adviser, Dr Jerry Hill, said: "The closure of saunas on our racecourses represents a significant step forward for jockey wellbeing and a permanent raising of the minimum weight, while protecting competitiveness by raising the maximum weight, is the correct response to that development."
