BHA reviewing ‘flawed ’ whip rules in time for the Cheltenham Festival
The British Horse-racing Authority (BHA) has been making significant changes to the ‘flawed’ whip rules.
The issue is of using the whip on the horse during the race is a controversial one. The change was welcomed by the Professional Jockeys’ Association.
The initiative for this rule was taken by BHA chief executive Paul Bittar, who is motivated to solve this issue before the Cheltenham Festival, which is scheduled to start in three weeks.
The BHA is focusing on the fact that the horses should be in good shape and their welfare should be considered.
They are revising this law at this time so the Cheltenham Festival not disqualify any contenders because of this rule.
The new rule will be implemented in beginning of next month. This rule new focuses on the manner in which the stick is used instead of the number of times a jockey is permitted use the whip.
Among other changes, the board has also suggested revised penalty structure. The penalty aims to providing less strict penalties for minor offences.
The currently restrictions are widely criticized by the jockeys. The BHA confirms that these restrictions would be relaxed by March 13th, for the anxiously awaited Cheltenham Festival.
The current law deems that a jockey will be automatically disqualified of the whip is uses 8 times on the flat and nine times over jumps. These figures will now be used to review the race and to check if the jockey has breached any of the law.
Paul Bittar stated:
"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.”
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