Napper Tandy seen winning at Punchestown in June died following a fall at Cheltenham© Photo Healy Racing
The use of the whip in horse racing is one of the most emotive topics, both inside and outside the sport. Within the sport there are two distinct schools of thought. Many see the whip issue as the sport’s Waterloo. Lose the battle to preserve the whip and the entire sport will start to crumble.
A counter opinion within the sport is that, while the whip has legitimate safety and corrective uses, it perpetuates a perception that the sport is cruel and its use has become increasingly difficult to defend.
The modern whip carried by jockeys these days is far removed from the weapons of the past and when used to get maximum effort out of a horse is much more about stimulating the horse’s natural flight instinct than inflicting pain.
The rules regarding the use of the whip have also evolved. At the beginning of 2023 British racing introduced the ultimate sanction of disqualification in cases where the rider goes four strokes above the maximum permitted number.
This specific rule was, in my opinion, one of the better rules regarding whip use as it is unambiguous and should be incredibly straightforward to enforce.
Unless a stroke of the whip is unequivocally for safety purposes it counts. It doesn’t matter how hard the stroke is or where on the horse it lands. As long as the whip connects with the horse it counts.
If a rider connects with his whip 10 times in a Flat race or 11 times in a jumps race his horse will be disqualified. It is meant to be as simple as that.
But of course when it comes to horse racing, and in particular the whip, nothing is ever straightforward.
Besides the fact that the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) deemed it more suitable to determine the number of strokes by means of a Whip Review Committee several days after the race, rather than let the stewards on the day make the decision, the rule itself is now open to interpretation as we saw with last week’s latest instalment of the Cesarewitch farce.
Moments after Alphonse Le Grande passed the post in front at Newmarket on Saturday 12 October it became apparent that jockey Jamie Powell had hit his mount 10 times with his whip. The stewards on the day passed this information on to the Whip Review Committee and when they convened on Tuesday 15 October they confirmed the breach and disqualified Alphonse Le Grande.
Here is what Brant Dunshea, Chief Regulatory Officer for BHA, said when Alphonse Le Grande was disqualified four days after the Cesarewitch by the Whip Review Committee: “The Whip Review Committee (WRC) was introduced to ensure consistency of decision-making around whip decisions. It is critical that decisions of such importance as potential disqualification are handled in a consistent manner via this process.”
One month later, following an appeal by connections of Alphonse Le Grande, an independent British Horseracing Authority disciplinary panel reversed the decision of the Whip Review Committee and reinstated the horse as the winner of the race.
This mess boils down to the tenth and final use of the whip by Powell. The rider tried to hit the horse for a tenth time, but it is inconclusive as to whether or not that strike actually made contact. Both sides at the Appeal were in agreement that even if Powell had failed to connect on the downward motion of his whip action, the whip did make contact with the horse as he pulled his whip back to his side.
Under a strict reading of the rules that should be enough to deem it a tenth stroke, but the disciplinary panel disagreed. Panel chair Sarah Crowther said: "Adopting a pragmatic interpretation of the word 'use', we find it is not every single contact between a whip and a horse that will amount to use. This was effectively an unavoidable contact, which could not have had any material impact on the performance of the horse. In all the circumstances, that contact did not constitute a use."
While it can be agreed that the whip making contact with the horse as the rider pulled his whip back to his side had no material impact on the performance of the horse, it certainly was not unavoidable contact. It was a direct consequence of the rider attempting to whip the horse in the first place.
An equally emotive issue for the sport is the death of horses while racing. Sadly there were three such fatalities at Cheltenham on Sunday.
More often than not these equine fatalities happen away from the glare of the cameras, but Abuffalosoldier collapsed and died as a post-race interview was concluding with his rider live on ITV, after the horse had gallantly made all the running to win a handicap chase.
These equine deaths are mostly hidden away by the sport. They are recorded statistically, but the horses that give their lives to entertain us should be more than mere numbers on spreadsheets.
Most racecourse enclosures, Cheltenham included, are adorned with statues of past champions. Perhaps it is time to also remember those that gave the ultimate sacrifice.
A memorial wall at each racecourse with the names of the horses that died there while competing in races would be a fitting tribute to their memories.
