RACING WHIP GUIDELINES:THE TURF Club are going to set up a committee to examine the implications of the British Horseracing Authority's dramatic new whip guidelines but Irish racing's regulatory body indicated yesterday they are likely to continue allowing stewards in Ireland at least some discretion when it comes to whip cases.
Strict guidelines in terms of the number of times a jockey is allowed use the whip were released by the BHA yesterday amongst a long list of recommendations aimed at easing the contentious issue of whip-use in British racing.
High-profile figures such as Frankie Dettori and Tony McCoy came out in support of the measures, although the moves have also provoked criticism that they may prove to be too inflexible and that penalties, such as jockeys forfeiting their percentage of prize money if found to be in breach of the new rules, are too severe.
The new regulations set out in black and white that a whip can only be used a maximum of seven times in a flat race and eight times in a National Hunt race. It can also only be used five times in the last furlong of a flat event and from the last obstacle in a jumps race.
“I am not proud of having fallen foul of the whip rules in the past but I have never harmed a horse,” Dettori said yesterday. “These new rules are easy to understand, which will help all jockeys ride within them.”
However indications yesterday were that Irish racing is unlikely to lay down similarly stringent guidelines for whip use on the back of the moves in Britain. The Turf Club’s chief executive Denis Egan said he will be recommending the setting up of a sub-committee to examine the British regulations at tomorrow’s stewards meeting. However he also stressed there is little demand within racing in Ireland for any dramatic changes to the whip rules here.
“They have gone down the road of numbers in Britain for some time but stewards here have more discretion. The rule of thumb here is if it is deemed to be offensive to the eye, then action is taken,” Egan said yesterday.
“There has been a rough guideline here of 12 strikes with the whip but a rider could hit a horse 13 times in a race and not breach the rules. But if it is used six times in the last 50 yards it would constitute a breach of the rules. A horse needs time to respond and the welfare of the horse is always uppermost in our thoughts.
“We have always believed in allowing the stewards discretion but any sub-committee would look at what might be implemented here.
“Jockeys travelling from here to ride in England will have to adapt but there are some draconian penalties being put in place there. If you get more than a three-day suspension for the whip you can forfeit all prize money. If you win the Derby, that’s a lot of money,” Egan added.
Britain’s RSPCA gave a cautious welcome to the new BHA measures, although concerned that jockeys will still be able to use the stick in the forehand position.
“We hope these changes will mean that the few jockeys who have misused the whip will think twice in future,” a spokesman said.
“The RSPCA hope jockeys will obey the new rules. I sincerely hope that from now on jockeys will stay within the rules and keep their use of the whip to a minimum. Otherwise they are setting a bad example and making the sport of horse racing appear cruel,” he added.
