The Official Whip Thread

[fjadmin]

We said our bit here :

http://www.fatjockey.com/news-blogs/racing_news.php?Fat-Jockey-on-the-Whip-Debate-5

[Rhinestone Cowboy]

Its just mental what they are doing. When you see AP getting back on horse like did after that fall yesterday and these Benny Hill clowns give him 4 days for fook all during the week.

[Forced Kin]

No sense in it at all. Did you see Boycie rant about it all has a right pop at struthers someone posted it up on Betfair forum.

[Rhinestone Cowboy]

Packed in betfair forum a while back. Too many mugs and jockey bashers.

[Forced Kin]

Aye. Popping out but I'll stick it on here later. Happy punting.

[Forced Kin]

Here's the boycie stufff


seanboyce
14 Feb 2012, 10:17
I wrote an open letter to Jamie Stier (copied to Paul Struthers) in October. Received no reply or acknowledgement from either by the way.

In it, I made this point:

The new regulations have not worked. They are too easy to break, they do not give horsemen and women sufficient scope to ride well in all circumstances.

Four months on and the rules are still not working. They are still too easy to break by riding well rather than badly and offences for excessive frequency (despite swingeing penalties) remain up.

No amount of tinkering, discretion applying, or penalty tweaking will address the fundamental flaws in the new rules. They were based on opinion polling of people with no interest, no knowledge and no experience of the sport. They have no logical, moral, or practical foundation. It's hardly surprising therefore that they have not worked.

They should be torn up and replaced with rules based on logic, welfare, good practice and experience. Rules that protect the horse and the sport. It will have to happen sooner or later so better to get on with it straight away. We have the best horses and the best horsemen and women in the world, why should we settle for such poor quality regulation?


Far be it for me to express an opinion, but it's to be hoped that in his new role at the PJA, Paul Struthers at least shows people the common courtesy of an acknowledgement. He also ignored an Email I sent to him at the BHA.Ignorance is bliss, I suppose.

[Rhinestone Cowboy]

Thats a proper rant.

[Forced Kin]

I am glad they have changed it but timing looks dodgy again ...whats the story with prizemoney being taken off them ?


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.

Bittar said: "Over four months have passed since the introduction of the first set of rules following the whip review.

"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 common sense 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.

The revised penalty structure, which will take effect on Thursday, will also be retrospectively applied to suspensions still to be served.

One strike over will still warrant a two-day ban, but two more will now incur a four-day suspension, rather than five days as at present.

In a radical change, repeat offences at both the lower and upper level of whip offences will not result in the penalty multiplying. Each offence will now be treated on its merits.

Repeat offenders will, however, be referred to the disciplinary panel of the BHA.

Bittar added: "Prior to the implementation of the new whip rules, stewards policed cases of misuse of the whip based on similar principles to that outlined in the proposal.

"The difference with this proposal is the markedly lower and clarified threshold levels for when a ride will be reviewed.

"It is recognised that the most demanding challenge in relation to framing the rules on this subject is finding the balance between a proportionate penalty and one that also acts as an effective deterrent.

"In particular, the board recognises that this question may come under scrutiny in major races and reserve the right to make further revisions in the future."

[Rhinestone Cowboy]

From David Muir

RSPCA Statement on BHA rules

“It’s absolutely staggering that the BHA has taken such a clear backward step, less than six months after the new whip rules were introduced. Not only has the BHA failed to consult the RSPCA or other welfare groups about its plans but the decision flies in the face of scientific research which shows that excessive use of the whip actually increases the likelihood of falls.

“This is a black day for the racing industry but the real losers today are horses – jockeys have effectively been given a licence to beat them with impunity. We are extremely disappointed that once again the BHA has seen it necessary to change the rules in favour of the jockeys, despite having already allowed two previous concessions.

“Since the new rules limiting the use of the whip were introduced there appears to be a culture of change among jockeys, which is a positive move forward. This latest move sees the preventative, punitive, element of the new whip rules reduced even further which gives us real cause for concern.”

[Sean Ryan]

That's a shocking statement from Muir. Overly emotive toys out of pram stuff.This bit reveals another agenda imo :

the decision flies in the face of scientific research which shows that excessive use of the whip actually increases the likelihood of falls.

He is now making falls the issue. That's not good and is a clear moving of the goal posts

I thinking the timing of this latest change is just brutal as well. A week before cheltenham ? I suspect the only real concession PJA have got is on the carry over .

[Rhinestone Cowboy]

Devil will be in the detail.

[Sprinter]

confusion reigns

[Rhinestone Cowboy]

A 16-year-old student has devised technology to help jockeys avoid bans for overuse of the whip.

Matthew Cullen from Castleconnor, Co Sligo, has developed a device called Eqwhip which tells jockeys if they have reached their quota through an ear device linked through bluetooth to the tiny computer circuit in the whip. An LED light on the whip handle will also turn on and the whip can be set to ride over jumps or the flat, depending on the jockey’s wishes.

The St Muredach’s College student has been granted a provisional worldwide patent for his project and has already been in talks with several jockeys and the Turf Club.

"I have a programmed counter in the whip," he said.

"I’ve it programmed to a record a set number of times. Then I have my sensors at the bottom of the whip, it reads each time the horse is hit but it has to be over a certain force to count as a hit.

"The jockey will wear an ear piece and a bleep will go off either when they have one hit left or when they have used up all of their hits depending on what the jockey prefers. Both versions will be available to buy when I bring it to market."

He plans to introduce it to whip manufacturers and, if it is accepted by the British Horseracing Authority, could be used as proof in disputes between stewards and jockeys to prove the rule was not broken.

However the invention came about by pure luck though.

"When I was in fourth year I was sick with glandular fever," he said.

"Because I missed so much time I went back and did Transition Year. One of my teachers told me about this competition [national student enterprise awards] and to think of an idea for it.

"It was back when the rule was coming out so I researched my idea and there was no evidence that this had ever been done before and I got great feedback from it."

He worked with physics teacher Kevin Boyle, neighbour Derek Mahony and Charlie Cahill, CEO of Blue Tree Systems, to develop the idea and plans to improve it further in the coming year.

"I’m going to try and commercialise it and get in contact with whip manufacturers," he said.

"I want to get it introduced to horse racing and hopefully down the line it will become mandatory."

Born into a racing background — his father John James Cullen is a licensed horse trainer and his brother John is a farrier — he hopes the whip will be used across the world one day.

"I think that there is potential for it to go worldwide with the rule in place in Australia also.

"If you look at it this way every jockey is going to have at least three whips. You would have amateurs as well as professionals [using it] so it has massive potential."

[Lester]

Tom Scudamore was banned for four days by the Haydock stewards after being found guilty of breaching the rules on whip use. The rider was penalised for his winning effort aboard Gevrey Chambertin in the Brown Shipley Wealth Well Managed "Fixed Brush" 'National Hunt' Novices' Hurdle, being banned from December 9-12 inclusive.

That suspension follows on from the six days he picked up at Cheltenham last weekend and he will now be sidelined from December 2-12.

[Old Vic]

I thought we could close this thread but it seems not ...since Bittar had left the building BHA seem in disarray ��