Few subjects in racing are more divisive than whip use. In fact, we can't even agree on what to call it. Is it a riding crop or a whip? If it's the former, how do you describe a jockey's actions when he or she strikes the horse: cropping?
In this week's edition of the Friday Show, Ray Paulick and bloodstock editor Joe Nevills review a race from Oaklawn last weekend that saw jockey Ramon Vazquez striking his mount, Rated R Superstar, at least 30 times in the stretch run while finishing second in the Essex Handicap. Vazquez was fined $500 by stewards at the Arkansas track for “striking his horse excessively while not allowing a proper response time.” His cut of the purse was $10,000. Three years ago, the same jockey was fined $1,000 for striking a horse 48 times in the final 3 1/2 furlongs of a race at Prairie Meadows in Iowa.
Racing regulators in various states are beginning to adopt much stricter rules and penalties regarding use of the whip, and the devices themselves are now cushioned and much less likely to leave welts. While some horseplayers and horsemen feel that repeatedly striking a horse to get maximum effort is necessary, the ethics and optics are troubling to many others.
Watch this week's edition of the Friday Show that also includes our Star of the Week and a Toast to Vino Rosso that focuses on one of the 2019 Breeders' Cup Classic winner's first foals.
The post The Friday Show Presented By Diamond B Farm’s Rowayton: Whip Reform appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
