Billy Lee’s appeal against a six-day ban that could potentially scupper his chances of becoming champion jockey for the first time will be heard on Wednesday.
Lee’s battle with Colin Keane has invigorated the wind-down to the flat season in Ireland and he still narrowly leads his rival 89 winners to 88 after both drew a blank at Dundalk on Friday night.
The nearest either got to a winner was when Lee finished runner up in the first two races.
However, despite trailing, Keane remains a 4-9 favourite with Paddy Power to come out on top. Lee is 13-8.
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Much of that is due to the suspension Lee got for his use of the whip in a race at Dundalk last week. He appeared to go one over the eight-stroke limit when winning on Beleaguerment. Lee told the stewards that two of those strokes were for corrective purposes, which is permitted.
There are only four more flat fixtures left in Ireland before the season finishes in Naas next Sunday. Lee is currently ruled out of two of them, Friday’s Dundalk fixture and the finale 48 hours later.
An Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board spokesman has confirmed the appeal will be held on Wednesday morning at 9.30.
The next flat meeting in Ireland is at Galway on Bank Holiday Monday. There is another date on the all-weather at Dundalk on Wednesday.
