The drone drama continues after officials at Leicester Racecourse again vented their frustration, after a drone that has been spotted flying over the racetrack during the last six months was again sighted on Tuesday afternoon.
The use of drones at racecourses has been a huge topic of conversation in the last few weeks, with the primary concern being that they stream faster pictures to punters, handing some an unfair advantage over others.
Track officials say the lightning-fast images provided by the drones in the air, are being bought by gamblers who bet mid-race, who can therefore have an early sight of potentially race-changing moments.
However, jockey Tom Scudamore warned that recent incidents of drones operating above racecourses is also posing a serious threat to people arriving at the track by helicopter.
(Credit: Racing Post) He said: “I didn’t notice the drone but there’s obviously television rights and it’s the same with anything in life, you don’t want people taking the mickey. If they’re not allowed to, they shouldn't be there and it’s an issue waiting to happen.
“David Pipe has a helicopter and at Cheltenham and the big meetings that’s got to be a fear. People are coming racing by helicopter and they could get hit by a drone. That’s what we’ve got to be very wary of because they cause issues.
"There's aviation around racecourses all of the time and, for me, that would be even more frightening than them spooking the horses.”
A drone was also sighted five days ago at Haydock, when one was spotted hovering over the racecourse, believed to be controlled from a white van parked outside the track.
It appears that the power of racecourses to remove drones from their ground is somewhat limited, as they are being launched from private land.
The BHA have stated that the responsibility for preventing drone activity sits with the racecourses themselves, however if this continues to be a problem every week, it should be a matter of time before the sports' governing body should actually step in and assist.