Jockeys throughout New Zealand will today begin unprecedented industrial action in search of a pay increase.
The first step is a ban on media interviews, the second involves jockeys delaying the main race of the day by 10 minutes at specified race meetings on one of the biggest days of the year - January 1 - and the third tier of action will be a total ban on riding.
Meetings affected on New Year's Day are Ellerslie, Hastings and Waikouaiti. The Ellerslie race facing disruption will be the $200,000 Blandford Lodge Railway.
New Zealand's jockeys are upset that New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing is not taking their pay increase requests seriously. They are asking for a $10 increase on their $115 a ride.
Spokesman Hayden Tinsley, president of the Central Districts Jockeys Association, said: "We used to get a bi-annual $10 increase. A couple of years ago we were told things had got tougher and we agreed to waive that increase.