Racing: Dragging preventable says device inventor

Australian inventor Adrian Morgante is totally frustrated.

He claims he could have saved the life of Sam McRae, who was fatally injured at Riverton races last weekend, but is getting no assistance.

Morgante has invented a gadget "Toe Stoppers", which he says will eliminate from horse racing the risk of jockeys getting their feet hooked in the stirrup iron and dragged along the ground, as horrified Trackside viewers saw happen to McRae, a 16-year-old apprentice jockey last Saturday. His funeral was held at Riverton on Thursday.

Toe Stoppers fits around the stirrup iron, closing off the front of the iron so a foot cannot push through, much the same as competitive cyclists.

Morgante has offered it to horse racing, has conducted extensive field tests with jockeys, but the racing industry has not sanctioned its use officially.

"The stumbling block is that racing will not allow jockeys a safety weight allowance to incorporate the Toe Stopper into their raceday gear.

"Racing gave jockeys a 1kg safety allowance to incorporate the safety vest a few years ago.

"Safety vests can only assist in preventing injury, the Toe Stopper completely eliminates the risk of injury from being dragged."

The Toe Stopper weighs just 130 grams per pair and Morgante says jockeys would need a half a kilogram allowance to use it.

"Jockeys are wasting so hard now they are damaging their health, there is no way racing can realistically expect them to take up the weight slack of the Toe Stoppers.

'They need the allowance and they need it badly - it saves lives."

Jockeys are permitted to use the Toe Stopper if they add it to their weight.

Morgante knows a bit about the subject - he is an ex-jockey who was nearly killed in a race dragging incident.

When the Australian chairman of stewards in 1999 had an article published voicing concerns over the number of jockeys being hooked up and dragged in races, Morgante spent five years developing a safety solution for the problem.

Danny Nikolic used the Toe Stopper when he won the A$2.5 million 2003 Caulfield Cup on Mummify.

Glen Boss used it the day Shogun Lodge collapsed and died at Flemington.

Another leading Melbourne jockey, Darren Gauci, was one of 70 who have trialled the gadget and greatly approves of it.

During the past week Gauci suffered two racefalls.

In the first incident, champion jockey Damien Oliver hurt his back and is still in hospital.

On Wednesday Gauci was one of several jockeys upended when a flock of seagulls disrupted the final race at Sandown in Melbourne.

In a signed statement Morgante sent the Herald, Gauci said 'yes' to

(a) Do you believe if Toe Stoppers were made compulsory they could prevent riders from being hooked up and dragged, therefore reducing injuries and death?

(b) Would you use the Toe Stoppers in races if you were given the weight allowance incentive?

(c) Should jockeys be given a Toe Stopper weight allowance if it could save them from being dragged causing serious injuries or death?

(d) If available would you wear Toe Stoppers every time you ride?

"Unquestionably, Sam McRae would not have died if he had been using Toe Stoppers and neither would have a number of jockeys killed in Australia."

Scott Galloway, second on the Queensland jockeys' premiership in 2003-04, said: "This should have been invented earlier," when he tried Toe Stoppers.

Toe Stopper has won five international awards and in Australia has been declared "Best Health and Safety Invention 2003", "Best Sports and Leisure Invention 2002" and "Best Invention 2001".

Toe Stoppers cost A$89 a pair.

Morgante said that with three jockey deaths in Australia and New Zealand in the last month, racing can no longer ignore the issue of making Toe Stoppers compulsory.

"Government is starting to take notice and A Current Affair wants to do a piece on it."

Of the 70 jockeys and trackwork riders involved in the field trial, there were 68 mentions of riders being dragged.

And 20 per cent of those had personally been dragged on two occasions after a fall. Five of those incidents were in races.

Morgante's agent in New Zealand is high profile equestrian John Cottle, who represented New Zealand at the Los Angeles and Seoul Olympics.

"They give a rider a great feeling of security. They improve a rider's foot position and balance.

"My son was dragged by a horse last year and spent five days in hospital. That could have been avoided if I'd discovered Toe Stoppers earlier."

It doesn't matter how good you ride if you're unlucky you will be dragged. It can happen to any rider."

The Toe Stopper is being used in the latest Jackie Chan action movie shot in China.