Officials with Towchester Racecourse announced this past weekend that jockeys riding at their facility would have to adhere to specific whipping policies. The British Horseracing Authority has since chimed in on the topic, and it isn't exactly playing ball with the idea
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"They are entitled to ask but it would need our approval before they can do anything like this," BHA Spokesman Paul Struthers, has been quoted as saying in an article on guardian.co.uk.
"One thing I can say with certainty is that we will not be having one rule about what leads to disqualification at one track and different rules at all the others. Disqualification is one of myriad ideas and suggestions that have already been made, not by us, and even if we were to agree to it, I am doubtful that we could have it in place for October."
The article explains that the BHA had already announced a thorough review into the use of the whip. The report states that the BHA officials took exception to have to field calls from journalists in regard to the Towchester announcement before receiving any notification from the racetrack.
The Towchester officials had announced that jockeys would no longer be able to whip horses behind the saddle or down the neck, although, they would be permitted to hold the whip in a back-hand position and strike the horse down the shoulder.
"Racing is at a pivotal point now, with so much interest in horse welfare and what we're saying to the BHA is, we want to work with you, use Towcester racecourse for a pilot scheme and see what effect it has, on racing and on betting turnover," Towchester General Manager Kevin Ackerman was quoted as saying
(With files from guardian.co.uk)
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