‘It’s a matter of if we want to make the rules or somebody else wants to make them for us’
Industry identities call on governing bodies to embrace phasing out the whip
A prominent breeder, a leading international owner and a former champion jockey have all urged authorities to embrace Racing Victoria’s contentious proposal to ban jockeys from using the whip in order to ensure the industry is able to retain the governance of the sport within its own hands.
Segenhoe Australia boss Peter O’Brien, an Irishman, OTI Racing principal Terry Henderson and Hall Of Fame rider Brent Thomson yesterday all gave their support to the proposal which was sprung on the industry by Victoria’s principal racing authority on Monday.
All three emphasised that the whip should still be carried by jockeys to be used as a safety tool.
O’Brien acknowledged the controversy surrounding the whip and that it had the potential to disenfranchise many participants, but he believes the industry needs to act.
“I take a more macro view of the industry and the biggest issue for me at the moment is welfare and (Racing NSW chief executive) Peter V’landys is constantly saying that and a lot of administrators are saying that,” O’Brien said.
“So, to get in front of the story, I think we need to make change and the obvious one for me is the whip rule. Jockeys can still carry them for safety, but if no horse is being whipped in a finish it is still an even playing field.”
To illustrate his point, O’Brien used Winx’s (Street Cry) final race start in front of a packed Randwick racecourse in April 2019 as an example.
“I picked that race out because it really struck me. I went down to the rails, and I don’t normally go to the rails to watch races as I’d always be in the stands, but I went down to soak up the atmosphere and there was horror on young people’s faces with the cracking of the whip,” he said.
“It’s the visuals, and we all know that they are padded whips and that the horses aren’t marked, etc. so I am not disagreeing with that, but we need to take the lead on issues like this otherwise other people will take the lead first.”
Syndicator Henderson, who races horses in Europe as well as locally and in New Zealand, called for the whip to be referred to as a crop and warned that if action was not taken that Australian racing could be swept from the general public’s conscience as a legitimate pastime and industry.
“You have to acknowledge social trends and you have to acknowledge what is going on elsewhere because we can’t get left behind,” Henderson said. “We don’t want to be in the situation with our image in Australia where America’s is today.
“You have got the Washington Post writing an article to say that racing shouldn’t exist anymore, as it did last week, so we’ve got to be on the front foot with these sort of things, and to that extent, putting aside how Racing Victoria has done it and the political ramifications and machinations between the millions of bodies that exist to run racing, the simple fact of the matter is that the move towards the banning of the whip, the changing of the word whip to crop and the ability of jockeys to use a crop in races for safety purposes is the way the industry must go.
“It is simply a matter then of if we want to make the rules or somebody else wants to make them for us.”
OTI Racing recently undertook a study of whip use around the world and the findings were that Australian jockeys “overuse the whip by a factor of two” compared to their counterparts in France and Britain.
Henderson used the Melbourne Cup (Gr 1, 3200m), the VRC Oaks (Gr 1, 2500m) and the Victoria Derby (Gr 1, 2500m) as well as three major races in France, headed by last year’s Arc De Triomphe (Gr 1, 2400m) and another three in the UK including the Epsom Derby (Gr 1, 1m4f).
The top five placegetters were used for the collection of the data in each race and how many times the jockey used the whip in sections of the race was analysed.
“We overuse the whip in Australia by a factor of two, for example, compared to French racing and that is a fact,” he said.
“We use the whip twice as much as in France and about half as much more as the jockeys in England.
“It is not going to be long if we don’t address the current use of the whip, Australian racing won’t be the ones making the rules about whip use, this will become a political thing.”
If the proposal is enacted, former champion jockey Thomson who experienced riding in many international jurisdictions suggested that it had to be implemented across the country.
“We’ve come an enormously long way, and I am not running racing at all, but I think if we’re going to get it right it has to be Australia-wide otherwise we’re missing the point,” Thomson said.
As for the impact of the whip on a horse’s performance, Thomson said the move to the padded crop had changed the outcome altogether in comparison to when he was riding.
“Put it this way (back when I was riding), if a horse was having its first start and a jockey gave it a torrid time (with the whip) there is every chance the horse would not run well at its next start,” he said.
“But in this day and age, with padded whips, I don’t think it has the same impact that it had and it is probably more the noise that has an effect as the whips don’t have the leather flaps like they used to.
“Depending on the jockey, if he or she waves the whip it may have the same impact as giving it a slap down the side.”
Racing Victoria, led by chief executive Giles Thompson, called for an national action on whip reform by the end of this year and wants a plan in place that leads to the eventual prohibition of its use.
In the proposal, RV said that a jockey only be allowed to use a set number of whip strikes of between five and eight in non-consecutive strides for an entire race.
Under the current rules, the whip can be used a maximum of five times in non-consecutive strides prior to the 100-metre mark and at the rider’s discretion for the remainder of the race.
Trainer Wayne Hawkes, who works alongside his father John and brother Michael, said the whip rule would be left “half pregnant” if the proposed gradual reduction in whip strikes to between five and eight was implemented.
“If we’re going to do it (eradicate the whip) Giles (Thompson) don’t be half pregnant, do it completely,” Hawkes told RSN yesterday.
“Either get rid of the whip or let it roll on; it’s one or the other.”
The Flemington-based Hawkes questioned who Racing Victoria had consulted in reaching the decision to push for change on the whip.
“Who is actually saying we need to get rid of the whip rule? Is it the lefts, the rights, the Greens? Because no one asks me,” he said.
“Who are we actually polling? Are we polling a mum on the streets, a racing punter or racing owners?”
The Racing Australia board meets quarterly, with the next due in November, and Racing Victoria is advocating for directors to vote on the issue at that gathering.
The inaugural Riding Protocols Advisory Panel is scheduled for later this month.
On Monday night Racing Australia issued a statement suggesting RV had breached confidentiality by airing the proposal in public.
“What is concerning is the breach of Board confidentiality,” a Racing Australia statement read.
“It is important that Racing Australia conducts a vigorous debate and won’t condone any breach of Board confidentiality.
“Open and robust discussion cannot be undermined by a breach of Board confidentiality.”
Yesterday, RA chairman Greg Nichols told ANZ Bloodstock News: “I’m really focused on Racing Australia, notwithstanding that I am a director of RV, but I am far more interested in what Racing Australia is doing and I will leave it to Giles Thompson and (RV chairman) Brian Kruger to prosecute the Victoria angle that they are pursuing.”