The Australian Jockey Association, caught short without public liability cover at the end of this month, was yesterday still anxiously awaiting the opportunity to finalise next year’s cover with QBE.

After a week of controversy regarding the future of racing in Australia because jockeys couldn’t obtain liability cover, QBE Australia CEO Raymond Jones made the association an offer on Friday. With the current policies set to expire on July 1, the association is keen to seal the deal as soon as possible.

But AJA President Ross Ingles said yesterday that while QBE has offered liability cover, “there are a few other conditions that need to be met before the deal will be finalised”. The association is “very grateful” that QBE has offered cover, but “there is a little more fine-tuning that needs to be done to cover particular areas unique to jockeys”.

Mr Ingles is now confident that governing bodies for jockeys around Australia will obtain adequate cover, albeit at an increased price, and he admits he’s finding it hard to understand the logic behind the dramatic hikes in the cost of insurance, which will see many jockeys forced off the track.

“Unfortunately there are a large number of jockeys who ride around 200 to 300 times a year who simply can’t afford to pay the price,” he said. “And with the number of jockeys continuing to dwindle across the board, we may still see Australia’s third-biggest industry come under threat.”