The six jockeys involved in the void race drama at Sedgefield on Tuesday will not appeal against their ten-day bans.

A yellow flag - signalling 'stop-race' - was incorrectly raised by a member of groundstaff as the runners approached an omitted fence when it should in fact have been a chequered flag. It had been agreed before the race that the fence would be bypassed due to low sun.

The correct flag was used on the second circuit, but the rules say riders must stop when seeing a yellow flag.

As a result the race was declared void but Arena Racing Company, Sedgefield's owners, agreed to pay out prize money as if the race had been run and most bookmakers paid out on the winner, Debt To Society.

Professional Jockeys Association chief executive Paul Struthers said in a statement: "Having studied the video footage of the incident, obtained legal advice and weighed up the chances of a successful appeal with the risks to the jockeys of losing, we have agreed with the jockeys that an appeal will not be lodged.

"The jockeys agree that it is their responsibility to be aware of any warning flags and despite the significant mitigation that could have been offered on their behalf, we were of the view that this mitigation would be ignored on appeal, as it was on the day.

"We remain of the view that the decision to suspend the jockeys for 10 days was heavy handed and harsh. Comparisons could be drawn with the incident at Epsom in August where a false start was called and the jockeys did not pull up, resulting in a void race. In both incidents, the contention of the majority of jockeys was that they had not seen the flag.

"In both incidents the procedures were not followed correctly - at Epsom the whistle wasn't blown, at Sedgefield the stop-race procedure wasn't enacted, a yellow flag was raised in error, and the flag wasn't even waived, as required. Yet the jockeys at Epsom were not suspended and the jockeys at Sedgefield were.

"Unfortunately there were also differences in the two cases, one factual and one speculative. The factual is the importance of the stop-racing procedure, whether deployed in error or not. The subjective being the calming presence of Jamie Stier, BHA (British Horseracing Authority) director of regulation, at Epsom that day.

"It is immensely frustrating. The jockeys will be deprived of the chance to ride for 10 days, and whilst I'm sure the racecourse is likely to face charges and receive a fine, with racecourse's media rights deals even a significant fine is unlikely to run into five figures. This is akin to banning jockeys for one race.

"Finally, it simply cannot be right that a simple, human error in the heat of the moment can have such serious consequences for the jockeys and, more importantly, for racing. Rules and procedures that allow that to happen are surely flawed."

A statement from the BHA read: "We are still awaiting receipt of all the relevant information relating to the void race at Sedgefield. The priority is to establish what the next steps will be in terms of the use of an incorrect flag by the racecourse which led to the race having to be declared void.

"Only once all this information is received will the BHA be in a position to give consideration as to whether Sedgefield should be charged with any breach of the rules.

"BHA fully appreciates the impact that declaring a race void has on a wide range of parties and it is very regrettable if such a situation could have been prevented."