Following the first day under new whip rules at Santa Anita Park, several jockeys shared their continuing frustrations with the Daily Racing Form.
The California Horse Racing Board regulations include:
- Riders cannot use the crop more than six times during a race, excluding showing or waiving the crop or tapping the horse on the shoulder.
- Riders cannot use the crop more than two times in succession (within the six-time limit) without giving the horse a chance to respond before using the crop again.
- The crop must be used in an underhanded position with the crop always at or below the shoulder level of the jockey.
“We can't ride them to their full potential, even if it's a light overhanded tap left-handed,” Drayden Van Dyke told drf.com. “People have to understand to get that whip over to your left hand, there are certain techniques you have to do. Underhanded bars you from being able to do it as quickly. This is a game when every millisecond matters. I think it's really discouraging.”
“In my professional opinion, it's not going to work,” Hall of Famer Mike Smith said. “If you're on a deep track and they're tiring, it doesn't work. It'll cost somebody second money, a win, or third money.”
Read more at the Daily Racing Form.
The post ‘We Can’t Ride Them To Their Full Potential’: Santa Anita Jockeys Struggle With New Whip Rules appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
