The new whip rule have just been implemented in Toronto Canada. There are now padded whips and the horse can only be hit a certain number of times in a row. The racing people here are trying to change the sport's image.
We'll see if the jockeys here strike as well.
September 12, 2009
Jockeys angry over new whip rules in Australia took strike action on Thursday, affecting race meetings across four states.
The move saw racing disrupted in New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia.
Jockeys are now required to use new padded whips, but at issue are the five-week-old rules that limit the number of times a jockey can use the whip in the final stages of a race.
The jockeys claims the new rules are putting the safety of the country's jockeys at risk. Australian Jockeys' Association chief executive Paul Innes has called on the Australian Racing Board to conduct an urgent review of the rules.
"In the dying stages of a race jockeys need to be concentrating entirely on their personal safety and the safety of their fellow jockeys, not worrying about calculating the number of times they've moved their whip," Innes said.
"Racing is a very dangerous sport; one slip in concentration could be fatal. These new rules are a serious health and safety issue for jockeys."
The association said it was seeking a legal opinion on the health and safety issues arising from the current whip rules.
He argued the current "onerous rules" were neither necessary nor appropriate given the recent introduction of padded whips.
"The introduction of the padded whip was a fantastic initiative from the Australia Racing Board which successfully dealt with the animal welfare issues arising from whip use.
"The padded whips which are currently used have been scientifically proven not to cause the horse any harm or distress at all."
Innes described whips as an essential tool of the trade, not just for increasing speed, but for safety reasons as well - "they encourage the horses to keep their mind on the job".
"The fact is that nobody cares more about the welfare of the horses than the jockeys themselves, but they also care about their own safety and the safety of their fellow riders."
The association's chairman, Ross Inglis, said the group did not endorse flouting of the whip rules.
"But in their present form significant controversy looms on the horizon for racing in this country," Inglis said.
Inglis said the association had received support for their position from the Australian Trainers Association, Thoroughbred Breeders Australia and representatives of the owners groups in support of modification to whip rules "in order to avert a strong and united backlash from all industry participants".
However, that backlash came on Thursday, when jockeys launched strike action after the board released a statement indicating it would not budge on the issue.
Board chairman Bob Bentley said it was clear both from the way jockeys had ridden in the five weeks since the new rules became effective that the industry had "achieved a fundamental change in its attitudes and practices".
"Many so-called experts have criticised the changes made by the Australian Racing Board, but the fact is that the industry has come light years ahead on this issue.
"This is a good thing because it really needed to, whether or not that is palatable to hear.
"It should not be forgotten that 10 months ago all of the groups who now say that padded whips are working well were vehemently opposed to them. It is a credit to the industry that it has come this far in such a short space of time.
"The incidents of breaches of the new rules is less than 1 per cent and this is incontrovertible evidence that the overwhelming majority of riders have adapted to them."
Jockeys will race over the weekend but intend meeting on Monday to discuss the issue. They have not ruled out further strike action.
The whip rules are scheduled to be reviewed in February.