Horse Racing Whip Rules Changed

Horse racing whip rules will change this autumn, with jockeys riding in British horse races only permitted to use their whips in the backhand position (see image below), plus they will also face disqualification for whip overuse.

These new whip changes were discussed in this week’s overdue review of the current whip rules for horse racing in Britain.

The reasoning behind the move to a backhand-only style is intended to minimalise the excessive force being when jockeys need to use the whip – with a the backhand grip having a much shorter reach and grip, which will mean less force inflicted on a horse.

This whip review was first proposed in 2018 following the well documented Cheltenham Festival amount of equine deaths that year and also the high-profile whip bans over that 12 month period.

What Are The Penalties If Jockeys Break The New Whip Rules?

If a jockey uses the whip in a forehand position, and is clearly not doing this for a saftey reason, he/she will face a seven day suspension. While, even though the punishment for more repeated use of the old forehand grip hasn’t be totally nailed down, it goes without saying it’s likely to hold a hefty deterrent.

Jockeys will also face disqualification if he/she uses the whip 12 times (jumps race) or 11 times (Flat race) – these amounts are four above the allowed level of eight (jumps) and seven strikes (flat). These disqualification decisions are likely to be made on the day of the offence and by stewards at each track.

Regular offenders will also face enchanced penalties and could be staring at up to a month-long bans at a time. The intended suspension for jockeys following a disqualification is 14 days in a standard race (was 7 days) and 28 days in a major or more significant race (was nine) – a major race is deemed to be a Class 1/2 (flat/jumps), or any race with with more more prize-money than £27,500 (flat) and £20,000 (jumps).

Plus, if a jockey can be disqualified for excessive use of the whip, top horse racing betting sites may be tempted to change their ‘first past the post’ and ‘amended or double result’ payout rules.

PJ McDonald, the Professional Jockeys Association’s Flat president and a member of the whip consultation steering group, told the Racing Post: “While as jockeys we would prefer not to have seen penalties for whip offences significantly increased, we also have to…