whip rules | Horse Racing Free Tips

Penalties Tweaked Ahead of New Whip Rule Deployment

The previously announced new whip regulations will go into force on Monday, but the way penalties are calculated has been “marginally adjusted” according to the British Horseracing Authority (BHA).

Following feedback from jockeys, there were further amendments to the rules, and the bedding in period for jumps racing was extended by a week.

Under the new regulations, use of the whip in the forehand position will be allowed, with the BHA having reversed a previous decision to ban it after riders' objections. However, use of the whip has been reduced to six and seven strikes over the Flat and Jumps races, respectively.

The penalty structure was also strengthened, with the very worst whip offences potentially resulting in disqualification of horses and riding bans of 20 days–a tariff which will be doubled in Class 1 and 2 races.

In its latest update, the BHA confirmed only offences for use of the whip above the permitted level will be doubled and not offences for use above shoulder height. A tweak to how offences are aggregated where multiple offences are committed in the same ride has also been made.

In a statement, the BHA said, “The rules being implemented on Monday are the result of a detailed consultation process designed to foster more considered and judicious use of the whip.”

“They are being introduced after an extensive bedding-in period which has successfully allowed jockeys and officials to familiarise themselves with the new rules and guidance and identify where improvements can be made to their implementation, or where some jockeys might need to adapt their riding style. This was the purpose of the bedding-in period.”

“We are grateful for the input of the PJA (Professional Jockeys Association), NTF (National Trainers Federation) and a number of senior riders and trainers and we have now reached a position where the new rules and guidance will be implemented in the manner in which they were intended.”

“We were pleased to note jockeys stating that the responsibility now rests on them to ride within the new rules and adapt their riding style where necessary. We have already seen this happening during the bedding-in period, for which jockeys deserve great credit.”

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Weekly Stewards and Commission Rulings, Jan. 10-16

Every week, the TDN publishes a roundup of key official rulings from the primary tracks within the four major racing jurisdictions of California, New York, Florida and Kentucky.
Here's a primer on how each of these jurisdictions adjudicates different offenses, what they make public (or not) and where.
With the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) having gone into effect on July 1, the TDN will also post a roundup of the relevant HISA-related rulings from the same week.

California

Track: Santa Anita
Date: 01/13/2023
Licensee: Tim Yakteen, trainer
Penalty: $1,000 fine
Violation: Late notification of gelding operation
Explainer: Trainer Haitham “Tim” Yakteen, who entered the horse Code Runner, in the eighth race on November 6th, 2022, at Santa Anita Park is fined $1,000.00 for violation of California Horse Racing Board Rule #1865(e)(2) (Altering Sex of Horse – true sex not reported) necessitating a late declaration.

NEW HISA STEWARDS RULINGS
The following rulings were reported on HISA's “rulings” portal, except for the voided claim rulings which were sent to the TDN directly. Some of these rulings are from prior weeks as they were not reported contemporaneously.
One important note: HISA's whip use limit is restricted to six strikes during a race.

Violations of Crop Rule
Aqueduct
Jackie Davis – violation date January 5; $250 fine and one-day suspension, 7 strikes
Andy Hernandez – violation date January 13; $250 fine and one-day suspension, 7 strikes

Golden Gate Fields
Silvio Amador – violation date January 6; $250 fine and one-day suspension, “Use of Riding Crop – Three Strikes in a row”
Silvio Amador – violation date January 6; $250 fine and one-day suspension, 7 strikes

Oaklawn Park
Angel Rodriguez – violation date January 13; $250 fine and one-day suspension, “Raising his wrist above his helmet when using the crop”
Isaac Castillo – violation date January 14; $250 fine and one-day suspension, 7 strikes

Santa Anita
Ramon Vazquez – violation date January 8; $250 fine and one-day suspension, 7 strikes
Umberto Rispoli – violation date January 8; $250 fine and one-day suspension, 7 strikes
Edwin Maldonado – violation date January 13; $250 fine and one-day suspension, 7 strikes

Tampa Bay Downs
Robert Reeves Jr. – violation date January 13; $250 fine and one-day suspension, 9 strikes

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Jockey Feedback Leads to Further Whip Rule Amendments

The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has made further adjustments to the revised whip rules to be implemented in Britain in the coming months, including scrapping the need for jockeys to use the whip solely backhand position. Instead, the threshold for the number of times the whip may be used per race has been reduced to six times on the Flat and seven times over jumps. Previously the limits had been set at seven and eight respectively.

Penalties for breaching this limit, and for other misuse offences such as using the whip above shoulder height or not giving a horse time to respond, will be further increased beyond the planned increases which were published in November.

Since that time jockeys have raised concerns over information which was not aired during the consultation or technical discussion phase of the latest whip review, prompting a meeting between representatives of the Professional Jockeys Association (PJA) and the BHA board, with the latter insisting that the most recent amendments do not “reflect a dilution of the package of rule changes, but instead a method of achieving the same outcomes through a different approach”.

Another 19 recommendations and rule changes remain unchanged from the previous announcement. They include:

The introduction of disqualification as a penalty for use of the whip four times or more above the permitted level.
The introduction of a Whip Referral Committee which is responsible for evaluation of all rides and any necessary sanction or action, to increase consistency and drive ongoing improvement in riding standards.
The removal of “discretion” being applied by the stewards around interpretation of whip offences. Therefore every use of the whip will count towards the thresholds for use, unless it has been used clearly and unequivocally for safety purposes. This will have the effect of further reducing whip use.
Increased penalties for offences, including doubled suspensions in major races.

In National Hunt racing, the new rules are set to come into force next Monday (January 9) but with a “bedding-in” period, during which jockeys will be asked to ride under the new rules but will not be subject to the adjusted penalties until February 6. In Flat racing, a “soft launch” commences on February 27, with full implementation of the new penalties from March 27.

“An extremely thorough consultation was carried out over the course of 2021 and 2022, followed by an extensive technical discussion phase after the publication of the recommendations in July,” said David Jones, chair of the BHA's Whip Consultation Steering Group.

“Efforts were taken to listen to the views of jockeys from both codes, over many hours. This consultation has arguably been the most thorough undertaken by the BHA in relation to any specific regulatory reform in the past.

“In order to ensure that this process was suitably rigorous we pushed back the planned autumn implementation date for new rules.

“However, we are committed to listening to our participants, and when further views and information come to light very late in the day, and following the conclusion of that process, we were duty bound to consider it, and make representations to the BHA Board accordingly.”

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BHA Will Review Whip Rules Once Again After Additional Concerns Raised

Additional discussions are being held to address the issues that surround the new UK whip rules, which are due to begin on Jan. 9, 2023 for National Hunt racing, with a four-week “bedding-in” period, the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) announced on Friday evening.

Under the new rules, winning horses face disqualification if their jockey does not follow the new regulations. It has been agreed that to address concerns regarding the impact of potential disqualification of runners on raceday for betting purposes, any potential decisions regarding disqualification will now be made by the whip review committee away from raceday, and will therefore not affect the outcome of a race for betting purposes.

The “bedding-in” period allows jockeys to ride without being subject to the new sanctions. Beginning on Feb. 6, the new rules begin. For Flat racing, the “bedding-in” period begins on Feb. 27, with full implementation of the rules due to start on Mar. 27. Under the revised rules, a jump jockey who uses their whip 12 or more times–with 11 strikes or more for Flat jockeys–in any race could be disqualified. In addition, if the races are Class 1 or Class 2 races under both codes, as well as any race worth £27,500 on the Flat or £20,000 over jumps, the jockey also faces a potential 28-day ban.

Some leeway may be allowed if it is deemed riders were using their whip in the interests of safety or if it has been used down the shoulder with both hands on the reins. It has also now been decided that, should they wish, Flat jockeys may use the jump version of the whip–which has a longer padded section–in response to concerns raised by some jockeys regarding the use of the whip in the backhand-only and the risk of landing it in the incorrect place.

It is understood further representations made to the British Horseracing Authority include concerns over the backhand-only rule.

A spokesperson for the BHA said, “The BHA has always understood the challenges involved in any review of the use of the whip in horse racing.

“From the moment we launched a consultation in July 2021 we constantly engaged with all interested parties, especially jockeys and their representatives, to ensure we listened to the views of those most affected.

“It was because of that readiness to engage that we agreed to extend the initial timescales for implementation of new rules beyond autumn 2022, allowing as many people as possible to influence and shape the technical discussion phase.

“In the past few days, however, further representations have been made to the BHA, including some themes which were not raised as part of the initial consultation or technical discussions.

“In light of this latest information, the BHA and the chair of the Whip Consultation Steering Group have agreed to continue dialogue to explore options that address the concerns being raised, while still delivering our core objective of a more considered and judicious use of the whip for encouragement, and improved perception of whip use.

“It is right that those discussions are allowed to take place away from the glare of publicity but we will look to provide an update as soon as possible in light of the existing timelines for the 'soft launch' of revised rules on Jan. 9, 2023.”

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