Yesterday in Kentucky, a safety and welfare committee voted in favour of recommending regulatory changes to the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission. The changes would see the banning of one-handed whipping in all of the state's standardbred races.
An article in the Lexington Herald Leader states that snappers -- the loose strands at the end of a whip -- would be banned. The recommended rules would require drivers to keep a rein in each hand, and have drivers keep their hands in front of their bodies while utilizing the whip.
Well-known standardbred breeder-owner Alan Leavitt praised the recommendations. "Thank you on behalf of everyone in harness racing in Kentucky for what you've just done," he said.
The article states that Kentucky Harness Horsemen's Association executive secretary Bill Napier said he recently saw a driver at the Red Mile strike a horse 25 times in the stretch. "It'll make you cringe," he said.
To read the article in its entirety, click here.
(With files from the Lexington Herald Leader)
Dear carolyn there is a vast
Dear carolyn
there is a vast difference between whipping and tapping.. to raise your arm above your shoulder to whip is hard whipping..and to do it as counted by one complainer (25)times.is by anybody's standards cruel...horses will respond to anything that touches them when racing.they are so wound up...there's.no need for what we are talking about Hard whipping..
leave well enough alone most
leave well enough alone most hoprses are smart enough to refuse abuse and drivers know that limit. Its not like their beating them till their unhappy.
Anything, something, should
Anything, something, should be done about the feirce whipping that is going on.. jack moisiev just to name one is one that just keeps on harsh whipping and the fining is not doing a thing..what do you mean that the vets and judges are there..
the morning after my race. I found my horse had a nasty slash across his crotch.do you think it hurt him...thorobreds
cannot be whipped underneath where the sensitive parts are..
If the intent of banning
If the intent of banning whipping in the sport of horse racing is truly in the interest of the animal, then why only standardbred racing? Is there not the same concern for the well being of Thoroughbreds, Quarter Horses, Sport Horses, Jumping horses? I think not.
Also one needs to genuinely consider all aspects and repercussions of this dire decision. The betting in the sport is at an all time low, and you contend it is largely due to the whip. That being the case, why is Thoroughbred betting on the rise? Whipping is an accepted part of that sport, and there is no public outcry against it. No, I believe the negative around Harness racing comes more from the public belief that "cheating" is an accepted part of our sport. I hear it constantly from those not well informed about our sport, merely responding to the negative media.
We tend to air our dirty laundry in the newspapers, I guess thinking that any press at all is good for the sport. Not so!!!
I would say a more true public response to this issue, would be to have a simple questionnairre handed out at all standardbred tracks asking the actual sport enthusiasts (which would include the patriots of the mutuals,) not just the "animal rights people who do not on a first hand basis, actually see the animals after the races in which they believe the animals are being abused". The questionnaire should actually quote the rules which exist in the rule book now, and ask, do we need more rules or merely the equal and fair enforcement of the existing rules? Ask the bettor, if they would like to see two or three horses coming down the stretch lapped on, and the driver of the horse they have their money on merely sitting in the bike, "not trying". I would wager, your response would be much different.
I believe much more thought needs to go into these decisions before hasty "bad decisions" are made.
Every paddock has a veterinarian, and every judges stand has one or more judges more than capable of interpretting the rule book (or at least should be). Let's give the judges the support they need to do their jobs properly and justly, without threat of repercussion by stepping on the toes of the "big guys", and see if any more rules are actually needed!!!