The consultation was due to take place last year but was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The online survey covers a wide range of topics and is open for ten weeks. After the survey, the British Horseracing Authority plan then to hold wider focus groups.
Topics of the questionnaire include:
- What the rules should allow for use of the whip
- Whether the existing penalty framework provides sufficient deterrent to prevent rule breaches
- If disqualification should be considered as a penalty for rule breaches
- Whether international rules should be harmonised
- If engagement with the sport would change if the whip rules were changed
Brant Dunshea of the British Horseracing Authority said: “Whilst nothing has been pre-determined, no decisions have been made and no options are off the table, I think it would be a reasonable expectation there would be some level of reform as a consequence of this process,”
Dunshea’s comments seem to confirm that the Authority is leaning towards severe restrictions on the use of the whip, and such restrictions would likely be in place for spring next year.
Julie Harrington, the British Horseracing Authority chief executive, said that racing must “listen to and understand a range of perspectives if it is to prosper and safeguard its long-term future”.
It has been ten years since the British Horseracing Authority reviewed the rules surrounding whip usage, and a review has been a long time in the making. Almost three years ago, Nick Rust, the former chief executive, said there was “no firm timelines” for changes, but it is understood senior figures in racing are preparing for a possible ban on the use of the whip within three years.”
When the rules changed a decade ago, the British Horseracing Authority limited the number of times the whip can be used in a race. New rules limited the number of times a jockey could use the whip to seven over flat courses and eight over jumps.
When the new rules were introduced, the number of rule breaches regarding whip use halved from 1,000 to 500 per year. And the new rules were seen as being among the strictest in the world.
Champion jockey Richard Johnson who won the 2018 Gold Cup, was punished for misusing the whip during the race and was ordered to serve a seven-day ban.
Johnson said of using the whip: “In the adrenaline of the moment in a big race, jockeys will occasionally leave aside the rules and may forget where the limit is,”
“We have to stop that happening because even though all the evidence says that horses do not suffer any pain or cruelty through use of the whip, there is obviously a perception issue.
“It is to encourage horses, to remind them that it’s time to give their effort, and so on.
“Some of the public see the horses being hit – even though it’s a padded whip – and they don’t like to see it. “So we don’t want them to be used excessively and risk the chance of an unedifying spectacle.”
Brant Dunshea of the BHA added: “I want to emphasise, this is not a polarised yes/no debate or vote or referendum on whether the whip stays or goes, that’s really important to note. The responses are a guide that will be considered by the steering group,”
The consultation on the use of the whip is open until 6th September and can be completed by visiting the British Horseracing Authority website.
