A former jump jockey who sued two fellow riders for causing a fall which ended his career today lost his claim for damages.
In the first case of its kind, Mick Fitzgerald and Adrian Maguire were sued for negligence by 36-year-old Peter Caldwell, who has not ridden since breaking his back in the fall at Hexham in 1994.
At the High Court sitting in Leeds, Mr Justice Holland said: "This incident reflected the cut and thrust of serious horseracing - in theory avoidable but in practice something that is bound to occur from time to time, no matter how careful is the standard of riding. The statistics underline this view."
Mr Justice Holland granted Caldwell leave to appeal against the verdict
None of the jockeys involved attended today's hearing.
The case was originally heard in Manchester in December when Maguire, 29, and Fitzgerald, 30, were alleged to have cut in front of another rider, Derek Byrne, causing his horse, Royal Citizen to stumble.
Byrne was unseated and brought down Caldwell's mount, Fion Corn, leaving the jockey with spinal and head injuries.
Both Maguire who rode winner Master Hyde and Fitzgerald who was riding Mr Bean told the court they did not know Byrne was there and assumed his horse had dropped back after jumping the penultimate hurdle.
Both jockeys were found guilty of careless riding by the stewards and suspended for three days after the incident on September 3, 1994.