Following forewarned threats of action from the protest group Animal Rising during the Derby meeting, The Jockey Club, which owns Epsom Downs Racecourse, has been granted a High Court injunction in which prohibits acts of intentional disruption.
Granted after a hearing on Friday, the injunction prohibits individuals from entering onto the racetrack and carrying out other acts which would intentionally disrupt the races. This includes disruptive action in the parade ring and on the horse walk out to the track, throwing objects onto the course, and intentionally endangering any person during the meeting of June 2 and 3. Those found to be in breach of the court order could face fines or imprisonment.
“Our number one priority will always be to ensure that the safety of all our equine and human participants and racegoers, officials and our own employees is not compromised,” said The Jockey Club's CEO Kevin Truesdale.
“Animal Rising have repeatedly made it explicitly clear that they intend to break the law and disrupt The Derby Festival and that left us with no choice but to seek this injunction, having consulted with a number of stakeholders including Surrey Police.
“We will never tolerate a repeat of the illegal disruption we saw at Aintree on Grand National Day and we welcome today's High Court ruling, which provides us with an additional layer of security to combat the threat of such dangerous and reckless behaviour.”
He added, “We believe everyone should have the right to peaceful protest and have offered Animal Rising an area near the entrance of Epsom Downs Racecourse to express their views in a law-abiding way. However, anyone who attempts to disrupt the race or compromise the safety of horses or humans will be dealt with robustly by our security teams and the police.
“As such I now urge Animal Rising to abandon any plans to breach security at The Derby Festival and respect the legitimate right of the thousands of people who will join us at Epsom Downs and the millions of people watching at home and around the world to enjoy the sport they love uninterrupted.”
In April, the Grand National was delayed by 15 minutes after protestors broke onto the course and attempted to attach themselves to the fences. Protestors were also recently removed from an evening meeting at Doncaster, and from last year's Derby.
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