RACING bosses have issued a radical whip clampdown, with jockeys threatened with disqualification if they get it wrong.
Riders must also now only strike a horse with a backhand motion only, the British Horseracing Authority have ruled.
The BHA have changed the rules around whip use
A jockey and horse will be disqualified if the jockey uses the whip 12 times over jumps and 11 times on the Flat.
That is a rise of four on the current threshold.
The change to a backhand-only style of using the whip is being brought in to cut incidents of excessive force.
Any jockey who now uses the whip in the normal forehand style – unless clearly for safety – will be banned for seven days.
There will be longer bans for multiple incorrect strikes.
Longer bans are also being brought in for overuse of the whip – with the maximum now being a month’s suspension.
If these rules had been in place in April, Grand National winner Noble Yeats would have been disqualified after jockey Sam Waley-Cohen used the whip 14 times.
The BHA launched a consultation into the whip last summer in the form of an online questionnaire, as well as speaking to the sport’s participants.
The new rules are expected to come into force from the autumn, to possibly coincide with the start of the National Hunt season in earnest.
Top jockey Tom Scudamore said of the changes: “The change to using the whip only in the backhand will be a significant one for many riders, and the revised penalties are certainly strict. However, I believe the increase in penalties will have the correct deterrent on those riding.
“When the whip is used in the backhand position the natural arc in which you use it will mean that it is more frequently landing in the right place with the appropriate amount of force.
“The result will be visibly improved racing, which has not lost the important benefits of being able to properly focus a horse at the end of a race, or when jumping over obstacles, which is what the padded ProCush whip is intended to be used for.”
While PJ McDonald, a fellow jockey and also member of the Whip Consultation Steering Group, said: “While as jockeys we would prefer not to have seen penalties for whip offences significantly increased, we also have to accept that steps needed to be taken to prevent breaches of the whip rules.
“I am pleased that the introduction of the review panel will increase consistency of officiating, and focus not only on penalties but also improving standards of riding.
“The introduction of disqualification for certain offences is a major step, but I think we all share the same hope and expectation which is that it is a rule that will rarely, if ever, need to be used as it will serve as a significant deterrent to jockeys using the whip too frequently.”
Legendary trainer Nicky Henderson told Sun Racing what he thought of the new whip rules.
He said: “I personally think the jockeys have had enough warnings and sadly I think they had to do something to bring it under control.”
