Authorities Say Nothing Can Stop Drones Near Racecourses

Authorities Say Nothing Can Stop Drones Near Racecourses

The presence of drones on racecourses could be set to continue, after authorities confirmed there is nothing they can do to prevent them from being in the air.

Drones have been a big topic of conversation in recent weeks, after sightings at both Haydock and Leicester sparked debates that they may be used to illegally stream horse races in which punters bet on halfway through.

The lightning-fast images provided by the drones in the air provide a bird’s eye view of the action - perfect for those kind of punters who have access to an early sight of potentially race-changing moments.

The Civil Aviation Authority came out on Wednesday suggesting that drones had as much right to be in the 'uncontrolled airspace' around a racecourse as aircraft.

However the main worry concerns safety, voiced by jockey Tom Scudamore, that helicopters carrying jockeys, trainers and owners could be in danger.

We have already seen one tragedy in the last twelve months involved with Leicester City FC, however Jonathan Nicholson - Assistant Director of Communications for the Civil Aviation Authority assured all that drones are no threat to anyone, permitting that they follow the law.

(Credit: Racing Post) He said: "If users are breaking any of the rules of the drone code, then that is something the police can investigate if there is a complaint, they are the enforcing agents.

"From an aviation perspective, if it is what we call uncontrolled airspace, which is airspace not used by airliners and it is not near an airport, then the drone has as much right to be there as the aircraft.

"There's no priority for the aircraft, they are equal airspace users," he said.

Under the rules, a drone must be flown below 120 metres and stay a minimum of 50 metres away from people, horses and properties.

Nicholson said: "If the user knows before they fly the drone they're going to make money from it or be paid for it that would come under commercial use and they would need approval from us as an operator."