Whip Rules
 

What are the rules regarding use of the whip in the US? I was quite horrified by Soumillon on Thunder Snow. Counted 18 strikes. Here in Britain that would have got him a long suspension. Here in flat races jockeys can only use 7 (8 in jumps) strikes and leave time between each for the horse to respond.

There are some rules, mostly that will get you a "atta boy" from the bettors.

they need to leave the whipping between the jockey and the trainer/owners.

I'm sure he was expecting to get whipped bad himself if ThunderSnow finished off board.

I don't know the standards but I think 18 straight would be an infraction. Frankly I'm surprised jocks can even count them. I can't even count and run at the same time.

Occasionally, I invoke something on the show I call the 'no trip, no whip' rule. Meaning not only that no jock committing tactical error, checking without need, breaking on his mount's mouth, or otherwise butchering the ride should strike the horse, but that , in some cases, the horse should hit him.

Not a fan of sticking. Have seen too many horses amidst strong , unprompted moves dig their heels in and stop running when the rider starts swinging.

The main thing with the whip is the bad optics of it, especially in 2018. The rest of it gets too complicated to really interpret---some guys look like they're abusing a horse but aren't hitting that hard, others really are overboard and dirty but don't get caught, some horses respond to it while others stop. In all, the game would be better if there was no whip, just because it's another thing the stupid little humans involved are doing to the horses, mostly to cover their own riding mistakes. Still, because "whipping" is seen by many bettors as "effort", that's never going to happen.

I realize that it's a minority view but I agree that the whip should be banned altogether. Without the whip the advantage would go to the horses that are more competitive and run on their own courage. What's the downside with that?

I know a lot of jocks don't want to give up the whip but IMO that is because they are very sensitive to the unfair criticism that they are not true athletes but mere passengers on the horse. They want to be seen trying. They spend years learning how to use the whip and don't want to give it up.

There is also the argument that the whip can be an aid in steering horse out of trouble but the fact is that more trouble is caused by horses swerving to avoid the whip than it ever prevents.

There are also moral problems with the whip. T-Breds are very competitive animals who sometimes keep running on 3 legs and a stump when they break down. Kent Desormeaux tells of one race when his horse was slowing so he laid into him with the whip. It sped up briefly and then dropped dead of a heart attack.

I can tell you that when I ran track in college when I was in agony from fatigue in the stretch if the coach had come up behind me and hit me with a whip he would be going home with the whip where the sun don't shine. Too bad horses cannot do the same with their riders.

I recall that Espinoza hit American Pharoah something like 30 times in the stretch in the Derby. He had recently been suspended at Santa Anita for whipping a filly so hard that she came back with bleeding wounds on her side and hindquarters.
That's just wrong.

That's great unless you get jockeys /trainer/owners who don't care what they think they have to do to win. That's like saying that we should leave using performance enhancing drugs to the trainers. There has to be authority to set and enforce the rules.

I have a friend in Oklahoma who breeds race horses. She always buys back any horse she sells when its racing days are over so they can retire in peace. Some of the horses she buys back come back with scars on their flanks from whipping.

Probably should be some rules for it...

Negative public opinion could hurt the sport.

Monty Roberts, the original Horse Whisperer has argued against the use of the whip. He cites studies done with a radar speed gun, like they use to time Baseball pitches and Tennis serves, show that horses tense up and actually slow down when hit with the whip.

Anybody who has run track knows that the secret to running faster is to relax opposing muscles. Ask Usain Bolt.

Anybody who rides knows that the riding crop is best used with just a flick of the wrist. Not a violent swing like jockeys use

Racing existed perfectly fine for well over 100 years without whip rules. It's nothing more than a publicity stunt. And it'll just cause more use of electronic devises.

apparently Monty hasn't watched much racing :pound:

Yes, racing has existed for more than a hundred years and some horses have been abused for all the years. Slavery also existed for thousands of years and the world went on just fine - except for the slaves.

I can't believe you would condone just letting abusive trainers and jockeys mistreat their horses as much as they wanted with no rules to protect the animals. I guess you think ALL trainers are perfect angels that care for their horses first. Gee, racing must be the only business without bad people.