Sweeping changes to the controversial whip rules are set to come into effect before the Cheltenham Festival.
In his first major challenge since being appointed the British Horseracing Authority’s new chief executive, Paul Bittar proposed fresh amendments which were approved at a board meeting on Tuesday.
The board has given the thumbs-up to a fundamental change to the rules governing use of the whip, which is due to be implemented in early March, together with revisions to the existing penalty structure, which come into effect on Thursday.
Rather than it being an automatic breach when a rider uses the whip eight times on the Flat and nine times over jumps, the figures become the trigger point for the stewards to review the ride in question.
Stewards will then consider how the rider has used the whip in the course of exceeding the allowed number before deciding whether a breach has occurred and a penalty is warranted.
“Over four months have passed since the introduction of the first set of rules following the whip review,” Bittar said.
“Despite a number of changes to both the rule and the accompanying penalty structure it is clear that while many objectives of the review are being met, and in particular those pertaining to horse welfare, a rule which polices the use of the whip based solely on a fixed number of strikes is fundamentally flawed.
“While well intentioned, and in accordance with initial requests from the jockeys for clarity and consistency via a fixed number, in practice the new rules have repeatedly thrown up examples of no consideration being given to the manner in which the whip is used as well as riders being awarded disproportionate penalties for the offence committed.
“The challenge is to have in place a rule and penalty structure which meets the objectives for fairness and proportionality outlined in the Whip Review while retaining the positives which have been a product of the changes to date.
“These include the virtual removal of all serious breaches and an overall reduction in the number of offences.
“We are confident there is not a welfare problem associated with the use of the cushioned whip in British racing.
“The objective of this proposal is to keep jockeys riding to a similar standard as they are now with regard to their significantly reduced use of the whip, but with added discretion and commonsense applied by stewards when considering whether a rider is in breach of the rules.”
Bittar’s aim has been to try to prevent the Cheltenham Festival being overshadowed by the issue that has dogged the sport under both codes since last October.
PA AAP TURF
