BHA makes further whip concessions

THE British Horseracing Authority last night announced further amendments to the new whip rules, which were originally introduced last month.

The number of uses per race for the whip by a jockey is to remain at seven for the Flat and eight over jumps, but a number of changes to the structure for penalties will come into effect from today, on an afternoon when the three-day Paddy Power Gold Cup meeting gets underway at Cheltenham.

Any rider now going one strike over the allowed limit will receive a two-day ban and not the current five and, while a second offence for one extra will still be doubled, it will be from two to days to four, and not from five to 10. Two uses of the whip over the permitted limit will result in a five-day ban rather than seven, and three extra will see a seven-day ban and not nine.

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A seven-day ban remains the point at which a rider will lose his/her percentage of prize-money won. Should a rider exceed the frequency limit, the stewards will hear the evidence of the jockey and review the video footage to identify which use(s), if any, might legitimately be disregarded.

Exemptions will be reinstated for Group One/Grade One races for whip breaches attracting penalties of four days suspension or less, bringing the whip regulations into line with other offences. The BHA said the penalties imposed for excessive frequency have been lessened for a defined monitoring period of the current jumps season.

PJA chief executive Kevin Darley said the changes were a “step in the right direction” but that the amended penalties “are still too strict”.

Darley said in a statement: “This has been the most challenging time for jockeys for many decades, and jockeys have shown considerable restraint in recent weeks. These changes are a step in the right direction, but we have no doubt that there is still more to be done. The rules and penalties as amended are still too strict, and there will inevitably be more difficulties to overcome in the weeks and months ahead..”

Sixteen-time champion jockey Tony McCoy fell foul of the rules at Ffos Las on Sunday and was due to serve a five-day ban for using his whip once more than allowed. That ban will now be reduced to two days, and whereas if he is found guilty again of the exceeding the limit by one inside 12 months it would have meant a 10-day suspension, it will now only be a four-day ban. Also, Ruby Walsh will no longer have the spectre of a 10-day ban hanging over him after the suspension (which he has served) he picked up at Aintree on Edgardo Sol was downgraded under yesterday’s amendments.