Wide Rail Placement At Sandown A Concern

Senior jockeys raised concerns about a section of the Sandown Lakeside track on Wednesday after a horse slipped at the 500 metre mark in the sixth race.

The final two races went ahead following maintenance work and after stewards and a delegation of senior riders inspected the surface.

It's the second time in as many weeks that concerns have been raised at Sandown following a similar issue at last week's midweek program on the Hillside course.

Champion jockey Damien Oliver believes the issue arises when the rail is out a long way.

"There is a gathering of thatch underneath the surface. They're not getting into it and (the horses are) slipping on the surface," Oliver said.

"We're out 14 metres and I don't know why we have to be out that far.

"They get off the inside to get off ground that is chopped up, out to a part of the track that is never really used and it's too firm underfoot which causes horses to slip."

A horse Oliver was riding on the Hillside course last week slipped at roughly the same point of that track.

Concerns were raised on Wednesday after Glen Boss's mount Don't Plead Guilty slipped and had to be eased out of the William Hill Blog Loves Ric McIntosh Handicap.

After the incident the track was cored and Melbourne Racing Club chief executive Brodie Arnhold said dethatching work was already scheduled for Thursday.

"That will go ahead and we're back in the true position for the next meeting," Arnhold said.

He said club officials would meet with Racing Victoria and the respective jockeys' and trainers' associations in the coming weeks to discuss Sandown's workload.

"The track is doing 25 to 30 per cent more work than it was doing in its history and that's something we need to address as an industry," he said.

"How hard can you work your grass tracks?"