i'm fortunate enough to have met and watched some of the all time greats when it comes to actually driving horse as opposed to "herding" them with a whip.
I watched Keith Waples more than once, rate a mile on the front end, flush horses out from behind, have them stacked three high coming off the turn, and never take his hands off the lines and win by a neck or a head. If he did hit one and he did not get a response he put the whip away, and Keith probably won more photo finishes than any driver in history. you never saw him kicking hocks, or whipping and slashing to win by 6 lengths.
Herve Filion was another that had/has the hands. He could stick the lines up his butt and outdrive most of the drivers around today.
The great Joe O'Brien hardly ever used a whip and if my memory serves me correctly he won a pile of horse races.
The fact is if you hit one more than once or twice and don't get a response the only reason you keep pounding is a lack of skill and talent.
Face it, the only drivers not comfortable with this rule change are not natural horsemen, they are manufactured drivers, just passengers that happen to be able to use a whip.
I'll take the real horsemen over them any day

Bravo on the new whipping rule in BC. I agree with a number of other comments which suggest that a horse has only so much to give and no amount of inhumane whipping can make the poor animal go faster. In my limited experience, the best drivers I have seen use their skill and intelligence more than the whip and they are very successful in their endeavours.
Once again Bravo to BC!!!! and let's hope we can spread these rules to the whole of the racing industry!

If the judges had been doing there job, there would be no need for this rule change. The rule was in place and was not enforced. There alot more pressing problems out on the racetrack at Fraser Downs. Slow second quarters are the norm here. When was the last time someone got fined for a slow quarter, 2000? Constant interference, as drivers come late or push there way out. As the old saying goes -Unless you knock someone down your number will never come down, and even then its questionable in BC. Look at the starts and how many horses are off the gate, never see a fine for that. Its time that the judges in BC either throw the rule book away or enforce the rules we have in place and make the racetrack a safer and better product for betters to bet on. People must shake there heads at some of the inquireys and there results. Taking your hands out of the hand holds and whipping the first eight shows me how much the officals think of saftey and the money owners invest in horses

Well thats one less job for the stewards to do. They could always concentrate their time now on getting people through the turnstiles, think they may need to.
Why dont the do gooders stick to ruining the livlihoods of the unfortunate people connected with the dog racing...

If the judges would do there jobs then there would be no need for this. 4 times you might as well close the wickets altogether, and get rid of the cleaners that sweep all of the losing tickets up off the ground because there won't be any. There will be no bet therefore no purse money then what are we suppose to race for. I guess you can take whips off the next order for the tack shop because they won't sell either.

As a driver at Fraser Downs I have to admit that this is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. I do believe that you don't have to beat the crap out of them to get your point across. It's ok for jockeys to whip the crap out of them from the word go and that's satisfactory for their judges but not for ours. This rule is going cause alot of dangerous driving especially going to first turn when everyone is trying to settle into position so If I get knocked down because another driver is giving one handers and not steering his horse before the turn then who is responsible for that? The other driver or the judges for allowing him to do it. The last I checked we aren't Pompano Park we are Fraser Downs the laughing stock of harness racing! and this rule being introduced will be a dangerous one and I hoped that all drivers use extra caution while going to first turn.

People who do not earn their living racing horses should really find something better to do with their time than try to completely mess up harness racing as we know it!

I really don't like this whipping rule at all. I don't think there is even a need for this rule. Excessive whipping is easy to see. If the judges don't see it the first time, during a live race, they can look at the re-plays over and over to determine if excessive whipping took place. If they spot excessive whipping, they call the driver in, sit him down and discuss the race with him. If the whipping is border-line, maybe sit the driver for a few days, and let him know he is being watched. If it is determined that the whipping is indeed, excessive, then sit the driver down for 3 or 4 weeks.
Can one imagine a driver wondering if he whipped the horse 2 or 3 times and how many more 'whips' he has coming? I think he had better keep his mind on the difficult task of driving the horse. Again, everyone knows what 'excessive whipping' looks like. Deal with those few who do abuse the horse. It is time to think of these beautiful horses and to stop thinking of winning at any cost!!

I dont see the problem in whipping a horse to make it go faster. 3/4 of races in the UK are won by horses that are whipped so it shows it works. Jockeys should have the freedom to decide when and how much to whip their horses.

I wonder if the BCRC will enforce the same policies with the jockeys as they do with the drivers. I fully agree that the whipping in the sport needs to be curtailed in order to move forward with the times, but unless it is an across the board change (meaning all racetracks in N.A.), it wont sit well with our betting public. If Fraser Downs and the BCRC are bent on removing the whipping, they should also be willing to stop simulcasting tracks that condone it.

I think there going in the right direction. I've trained and drove horses for over 40 years, so I seen a lot over those years. I think the whip is for training purpose only, to straighten up a colt if not paying attention to their work, or to keep a trainer safety in mind. I worked for Joe O'brien for years and his hands never left the hand holds from start to finish, but how many Joe's are out there, too bad. He told me that most horses will give you what they got and when you start hitting one late in the race when they are tired will only make them quit worse and or mistep and make a break or worse case senerio , fall..I think if a driver use his or her imagination and or talent, they can figure out how to make a horse move out without a whip. I recall driving a race at Northville downs on a chilly 4 degrees night, as we turned to go to the gate, my hands where so frozen and I droped my whip, oh well I thought. my hands never left the hand holds, I came out the 8 post, was parked to the half, took the lead and won by 2 going away. I paid 42.00. I thought of Joe and I learned something that night.If all drivers did not carry whips, would not the better drivers still surface to the top, so if you think you are a Joe O'brien or better, why do you need a WHIP ????

This is the last straw - I'm already sour on BC racing, and with this idiotic call even less of my action is going there. Who are these people trying to cater to - gamblers or some family that got lost and wandered in to ask for directions!? Look at Northfield - frantic whipping and a huge handle!

The comments about "when my money is on the line . . ." are troublesome. If it takes a driver whipping extensively down the stretch to get a return on my wager, you can have my money. The whip has a place in horse racing, but at the same time that place must be regulated for the sake of the horses. Only when there is a reasoned debate, balancing the well being of the horses, the needs of the drivers, trainers and owners and the needs of the wagering public will progress be made. Sure the B-C looks to have some loopholes, but the fact that is states clearly the need for limits to be in place, should be applauded

So, when they are leaving the gate, and the horse gets those three taps on the butt to encourage it to leave, does that really count as three of your four?

I was of the opinion that we as drivers are supposed to try to win races. To me that doesn't mean just beating on the horse in the final stages. It involves knowing the capabilities of the horse at ANY time in the mile, and to be able to use that knowledge as appropriate. If your horse doesn't leave, but finishes like a gang-buster, why would you one-hand him going away? Which in any case is probably the most dangerous time of any to be "herding" instead of driving. Personally I am a tapper, not a hitter, and my horses respond every week all summer. I've seen lots of horses quit after a beating, and NEVER regain the desire to try at the end of a mile. But those are issues to be settled between driver and trainer. This 4-hit ruling is made for the judges to not have to make a decision between dutiful encouragement and animal abuse. You might as well throw the whips away altogether, but keep steering, for God's sake!!!

REMINDS ME OF THE SIX HIT RULE,HOWEVER ARE DRIVERS ALLOWED FOUR HITS IN THE FIRST AND THE LAST EIGHT?? A STANDARD THAT EXISTS IN MY OPINION GIVES THE JUDGES THE CORRECT MEASURES TO DEAL WITH THE SITUATION SHOULD IT BE ABUSED.HOW ABOUT THE DRIVER WHO DOES NOT HIT BUT GOES TAP TAP TAP ?? AN EASY WAY TO REGULATE WOULD BE TO INCREASE THE FINES FOR ABUSE TO A LEVEL THAT WOULD MAKE SURE OF NO REPEAT UNLESS A DUMBBO IS IN THE BIKE AND THEN SUSPEND THEM. THE PROPOSAL REQUIRES NO JUDGMENT JUST A PERSON WHO CAN COUNT.

Every time some misfit or malcontent decides something bothers him/her, the powers that be scramble to see how fast they can kiss butt.
Whipping the horses in the stretch is something I had better see when my money is on the line. The races at Pompano this season resemble the stretch drive in the 50 year old movie "April Love". Remember Pat Boone shaking the lines like an old woman while pleading "C'mon Tugfire, C'mon Tugfire". Pretty phony.
Fortunately, I don't have to play harness races (although they have always been my first choice)- there are alot of t-bred tracks with some fairly honest racing.
To quoteE.R.Murrow; "Good night and Good luck".

what a joke

May result in the disqualification of a horse?

'Hey Sam, I bet the five horse and he won from here to downtown. Hold the phone. My driver, who loves to win, whipped him six times and now you want to disqualify my horse or give the driver a fine?'

Nice one!

can we make this clear for all.chuckwagon racing rules will be in effect at fraser downs starting feb.1

why is it when you watch a thourobred race ,they beat them steady and yet nothing is said or being done about that?also they are using leather or rawhide if you will
,not the flimsy whips that standardbred racers use

I agree - one handhold leaving the gate and going into the turn? Who devised that rule.That's ridiculous tyo say the least, especially when most places now are leaning towards two handed driving the whole mile.

its about time someone took some common sence and initiative although i am not sure about 1 handed whipping in the 1st 8th i think it could be dangerous.
too bad saskatchewan wouldnt follow this lead instead of being last all the time
kevin siever

Hand can come out of the handhold during the first eight of a mile?? Now there is safety!