RULES OF RACING:

Procedures and Penalties.

4. THE WHIP.

Notes on Penalties; Rule (F) 45

(I have done my best to make what follows interesting…even exciting… and hopefully correct. A.S.)

When deciding whether or not to hold an enquiry re. the whip, Stewards should consider how the rider has used the whip during the course of the entire race, with particular attention to…. relevant factors such as:

a) The manner in which the whip was used, including the degree of force

b) The purpose for which the whip was used

c) The distance over which the whip was used and whether the number of times it was used was reasonable and necessary

d) Whether the horse was continuing to respond (to the use of the whip)

Provided that the manner in which the whip had been used was measured, Stewards may choose to disregard occasions when the whip has been used when….

(There follows a list of exemptions when Stewards may refrain from regarding whip usage as criminal. As follows:)

When the whip has been used…

1) To keep a horse in contention or to maintain a challenging position prior to the closing stages of a race

2) To maintain a horse’s focus and concentration

3) To correct a horse that is noticeably hanging

4) Where there is only light contact (between whip and horse)

(In the above circumstances, Stewards are allowed to make the decision not to count the relevant whip use as rule-breaking.) 

With the above as a background to what follows, let us concentrate on a horse called Frontman (a 2-y-o trained by John Gosden).

FRONTMAN 

Frontman had his first race at Newmarket on 22 June 2019. He wore cheek pieces (a device attached to the bridle designed to help the wearer to concentrate). If a horse is going to wear cheek pieces in a race, that fact is available to the stewards and to the public before the race is run. Finished 4^th of 12. 

2^nd race: Windsor July 1^st. Cheek pieces again. Finished 2^nd of 12.

I quote from the Racing Post:

“John Gosden has labelled the 13-day ban for overuse of the whip handed to jockey Robert (Rab) Havlin by the Windsor stewards as ‘excessive’.

The trainer said: ‘Frontman is an idle horse. He was not helping the jockey, and he was wearing cheekpieces which gives you a clue as to his attitude. I can’t remember the last time Rab had a whip ban as he’s a proper horseman.’

The rider said: ‘Obviously I went over the permitted level but they were not hard hits – there was no force in them. The horse was not marked, and the lad who looks after him said he ate up as normal the following morning, so there was no harm done. I can’t remember the last time I had a whip ban; it must be many years ago.’”

Now look at the list of exemptions above

How about (2)? Focus and Concentration.  Surely jockey Havlin was attempting to encourage the horse to concentrate. It seems highly likely.

What about (4)? Light Contact. If Havlin says the hits were very gentle, why would a jockey of his stature not be believed?

What we are talking about is Discretion. In matters of the Whip, the stewards are not limited to the role of bean-counters only. The rules themselves encourage them to use their discretion in assessing whip-rule punishments. It is very important that they should do so.

So why was discretion ignored in the Frontman case? Possibly because in recent years the disciplinary regime of the BHA has been in the hands of people whose idea of justice has been simply to count “hits” and look no further.

Happily regime change has occurred, but old habits die hard, and the BHA must take steps to eliminate residual contamination and bring proper justice back to the racecourse – or they must banish all reference to “discretion” from their rule book, which would be a huge step in the wrong direction. End of story.

STEWARDING

I must admit that I have failed to apply eternal vigilance to this extremely important aspect of horseracing. I understand that changes are in the process of being made, as a result of which a five-person team of raceday stewards, consisting of three paid stewards and two amateurs will be replaced (or is already being replaced) by a five-person team made up of four paid stewards and one amateur.

If the old system worked well (which is what the BHA keeps telling the industry and the public) it means that, under the old system, the balance between the two elements was appropriate.

If the two amateurs were ever to be drunk on duty, the professionals would be there to sober them up. Similarly, if the professionals were intent on applying the description “Careless” to a flagrant example of “Dangerous” riding, the amateur stewards were there to denounce an unacceptable perversion of the truth in an aspect of racing justice on which horses’ and jockeys’ lives and limbs are dependent.

With the new model (four professionals and one amateur) that balance flies out of the window.

We will see what we will see, and I hope that the Horsemens Group will keep an eye on the quality of justice which the “new model” dishes up.

Incidentally, pondering over this subject (better late than never), I have noticed that  whenever the BHA wants to pull the wool over the industry’s eyes there is no limit to the range of completely fictional causes for alarm and concern to which it resorts. One expects the dreaded fear factor to be exploited by fourth rate politicians, but not by the racing authorities!

The Horsemens Group never seems to resent being treated as halfwits. I have a feeling that they carry good nature to an extreme that is irresponsible. If they will read the BHA press release concerning  Stewarding dated 29 August 2018 headed “One Team” they will see what I am talking about. What a load of old cobblers! I would remind the Horsemens Group that if the BHA makes many more mistakes it is the Horsemens Group that will have to clear up the mess.

Good luck to them….

PS1.

Talking of rubbish and BHA misinformation. This afternoon I chanced upon an item on Google which informed me that the BHA has recently recruited Shaun Parker, a South African, to replace Paul Barton as head of stewarding.  The current BHA raceday regulator, an Australian, describes South Africa as a major international jurisdiction and claims that Shaun Parker won this prize at the end of an extensive global recruitment drive.

I then googled “South Africa’s racing industry in good order?” and learned that far from being in good order racing in South Africa is in near-terminal decline. This report was dated June 2018, but I cannot believe that a year later all is well in that unhappy country.

Only a few months ago the BHA got a rollocking from a group of professional racing folk for continually employing Australians instead of encouraging British talent. I am quite certain that the complainants were not hoping that future  “extensive global” BHA searches would be directed towards South Africa, which even in a good year cannot be called a top-tier racing nation.

Best wishes,

Andrew Simpson

PS2 @6.47 p.m. 2nd October 2019

Dreary? Did I use that word when I flagged up Sport 96? I did.  And I was wrong. Almost immediately after making this mistake I discovered that Luca Cumani is joining the BHA Board. Better news it would be hard to invent. It has put a spring in my step, and in the step of anybody who has the best interests of British Racing at heart.