New racing colours ban spark national silks row

An established set of racing silks are set to be banned in some states as the furore over the deregistration of Brae Sokolski's new racing colours has opened a can of worms.

What is acceptable and what isn’t is a matter for each state’s licensing department.

However, silks, which make political statements, will be on the agenda of the chief stewards’ meeting at the end of the month.

The latest set of silks to come under scrutiny is similar to the Lebanese flag, worn by a horse named Lebanese, and Racing NSW says they wouldn’t be allowed in the state.

“Should it race in NSW, colours would be rejected,” Racing NSW chief operating officer Graeme Hinton said.

“Each state approves their own colours.”

The convention that each state can register colours, which can then be used across the country, means that one state’s approval can override a number of other states’ rejections.

There is a fee required to register colours, but does the process need to be centralised and run by Racing Australia?