Kentucky Horse Racing Commission committees approve proposed whip rules

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Two committees of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission on Monday morning unanimously approved proposed rules that would limit the use of the whip at racetracks in the state, according to participants in the meeting.

The new rules would limit riders to six uses of the whip after the first furlong is run, with no more than two strikes in succession without giving the horse an opportunity to respond, along with other limitations on how the whip is used. The rules also would allow riders to use the whip for safety purposes, with stewards being given the discretion to determine whether the jockeys’ use of the whip in those instances was justified.

The rules were initially proposed by the Thoroughbred Safety Coalition, a group of racetracks and racing organizations that banded together last year to push for changes to rules in the wake of year-long criticism of the racing industry sparked by a spate of breakdowns in Southern California early in 2019. However, the proposed rules from the TSC were amended at the behest of The Jockeys’ Guild, whose representatives pushed for modifications, according to the participants.

“We’re appreciative that there was discussion and dialogue,” said Mindy Coleman, legal counsel for the guild, after the meeting.

The rules are set to be discussed during a meeting of the full Kentucky Horse Racing Commission scheduled for Tuesday afternoon. The proposed rules approved Monday were voted on by a joint meeting of the KHRC’s Rules Committee and its Health and Safety Committee, meeting via teleconference due to the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The committees approved the proposed rules four days after the California Horse Racing Board adopted the most stringent whip-use regulations in the United States. Those regulations will limit a jockey to six uses of the whip during a race, all under-handed, and all while holding the reins or touching the neck of the horse. The Jockeys’ Guild opposed the adoption of that rule and later issued a statement saying the regulations were “unsafe” and that the rules “would jeopardize the integrity of the sport.”

Coleman said that the Kentucky rules differed significantly from the California rules because of the greater latitude that riders will be given in Kentucky.

While the California rules limit all six uses to under-handed strikes, the rules in Kentucky allow jockeys to use different motions, provided the rider does not lift his or her wrist above the helmet.

If the rules pass in Kentucky, jockeys also will be able to use the whip for the first eighth-mile of a race in order to establish control of their mounts during what is typically the roughest part of a race, with none of those uses counting against the six uses during the rest of the race. Jockeys also will be able to tap the horse’s shoulder or neck as long as both hands are on the reins, according to participants.