BHA Adjust Rules Governing the Use of Whip in the Sport

By John Isaac,
Editor at online-gambling.com

John Isaac Editor at online-gambling.com

John Isaac is an editor with many years of experience in the gambling industry. He writes expert articles on card games like blackjack and poker. In addition, he is also well aware of the US gambling laws and the Indian and Dutch gambling markets. You can rely on verified information and insightful details.

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Last updated: January 18, 2023

The rules governing the use of whips in British horseracing have undergone several changes, according to the BHA (British Horseracing Authority). The regulation stating that whips could only be used in the backhand position will no longer be valid, as decided at one of the board meetings.

In its place, a modification that limits its use to a maximum of seven times in a jump race and six times in a flat race has been made (down from eight and seven).The Chair of the BHA Board, Joe Saumarez Smith, said that it became evident via the views that were raised in the past few weeks in terms of the backhand-only rule saying that the it may potentially have posed difficulties for some riders.

He mentioned that while making modifications, it was crucial that the BHA Board was not taking any action to diminish the findings of the whip report. Therefore, the BHA Board has approved these additional changes, which address the problems with the backhand-only rule while maintaining the goal of making whip use to be visibly more palatable to the public, thus helping in safeguarding engagement with the sport among both the fans of today and in the future.

The BHA to Give Penalties for Misuse of the Whip and Also Use Above Permitted Level

The BHA will give penalties for using the whip above the level permitted. Also, misuse offenses like using the whip above shoulder height, using it in the incorrect place, or without time to respond, will result in more punishments. However, this might not appease animal rights activists who have already set their sights on banning greyhound racing.

Saumarez Smith continued by saying that the BHA expects and hopes to see the new rules of the sport being respected. He said they also expect a visible change in the use of the whip to be brought about among their jockeys and those who are riding over here.

The Date for the Implementation of the New Rules

The new rules are already in effect during the “bedding in” period for Jump racing. However, the full implementation of the new rules over Jumps will start from February 6th. The Cheltenham Festival will commence on the 14 of March; the organization believes Jump jockeys will have more than two months to get familiar with the new rules.

The flat racing soft launch will start on February 27 and the full implementation will start on March 27. According to David Jones, a former racecourse Stewards’ Panel Chair and the BHA’s Regulatory Independent Non-Executive Director, the consultation is the most thorough the BHA has undertaken in connection to any specific regulation reform in the past.

He mentioned that they postponed the autumn implementation date scheduled for the new rules to ensure that the process was appropriately rigorous. David Jones explained that when more information and opinions came a little bit late and after that process had been concluded, they were bound to give it consideration and make representations accordingly to the BHA Board.