Disqualification for whip overuse expected to be announced as a new deterrent

Disqualification is to be introduced as the ultimate sanction for whip offences in Britain, it has been suggested.

A report in Thursday's Daily Mail, which has not been criticised by some of those in a position to know, claimed the sanction would be available in especially serious instances of the rules being breached in high-profile races.

The BHA's drawn-out whip review is expected to be published next week following an egregiously long process. The review was first mooted at the end of 2018 when the ruling body's then chief executive said "a new structure for penalties and deterrents for overuse of the whip" would soon be announced. The review was formally recommended by the Horse Welfare Board in 2020 and a consultation process began last summer.

According to Thursday's leak, disqualification will be considered where a jockey uses the whip 12 times in a jumps race or 11 times on the Flat. There will also be enhanced penalties for the offender, who will be at risk of a month-long suspension.

An exception can be made for a rider who can satisfy stewards the whip was being used to ensure the safety of race participants rather than to encourage their mount forwards. This seems likely to be a defence that will only succeed in the very rarest of circumstances.

An increased number of disqualifications would be highly unpopular with both bookmakers and punters. Such a sanction would inevitably become the only talking point if it were used to change the result of, say, the Grand National.

Noble Yeats may have been vulnerable to disqualification under the suggested new rule after his Aintree win in April when Sam Waley-Cohen was suspended for nine days for using his whip too many times and in the wrong place on the run-in.

Joy for Sam Waley-Cohen as he wins the Grand National on Noble Yeats back in April. The winning rider received a nine-day ban for overuse of the whip, however, and may have been disqualified under these new proposed rulesCredit: Edward Whitaker

However, the hope is evidently that the threat of disqualification will be a sufficient deterrent to ensure jockeys comply with existing rules. These specify a maximum number of uses – eight times in a jumps race or seven on the Flat – beyond which stewards may impose suspensions and/or fines.

Officials have long complained about what are seen as "win-at-all-costs" rides in major races, when jockeys make more aggressive use of the whip than is their usual habit. In addition to concerns over how the horse is being treated in that situation, there are also regular complaints about the unfairness of allowing a victory to stand where the winning jockey has broken the whip rules and the narrowly beaten runner-up has not.

The BHA declined to respond to the details of Thursday's story, saying only: "The whip report is due for publication in the near future. We will not comment on speculation around its contents."

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