Former jockey Tony McCoy believes women jockeys should be given a weight allowance when they race against men.
McCoy, who retired earlier this year, has argued that women should be given a better chance in order to level the playing field.
At the moment certain racing rules allow apprentice and amateur jockeys a weight concession due to lack of experience, while fillies and mares will carry less weight than male horses in mixed-sex races.
However, the 41-year-old is adamant the rules could do with shaking up.
“The female jockeys are very, very competent riders but perhaps a woman should receive an allowance like a filly does in a race,” he wrote in his William Hill blog.
“It’s a very physically demanding sport and they’re not going to be as physically strong as a bloke. They can’t be. Tactically they can be as good, but if it comes down to strength in a finish, a woman is not going to be as strong as a man.
“There aren’t many sports where women compete against men and on a day-to-day basis are women as physically strong as men? No, they’re not. It’s just fact.”
