Zahra Penalty for over whipping

[henry30]

...nearly double the permitted hits.

On the surface penalty seems quite high  $50k and 7 day ban from race riding. But is it really?

Was a $5 million race. ..55% or60% to winner I'm not sure.  5% of that to jockey. Even if jockey pays the fine hes still coming out out well on top ..but ..Hey if I was the owner I'd be tempted to pay his fine....

7 day suspension ..deferred til after Cox Plate but means he's still back Derby Day....so still gets to ride in most of the big races of the spring carnival.

Is there really any deterrent here ?

 

 

[Hesi]

No, and I never really got the deferred suspension thing.

Owners will pay the fine of course.  Not everyday you add a Caulfield Cup to the CV

[PWJ]

Agreed. No deterrent and the suspension should not be able to be deferred. It also send the message to jockeys that you can flout the whip rule as hard as you want and you won't lose the race. It's also a bad look from an animal welfare point of view as the activists will watch these big races - Melbourne Cup, Caulfield Cup, Cox Plate - eager to see the rules being flouted. I think there should be a rule that if you exceed the allowed hits 3 or more times then you lose the race.

[Hesi]

The first time a major race got taken off a horse, it would end up as a court battle, so that would attract even more attention

[henry30]

1 hour ago, PWJ said:

No deterrent and the suspension should not be able to be deferred

I guess deferment is in fairness to trainers etc who have nominated and accepted horses for a race and booked jockeys. Also for punters who  may have placed non refundable early bets based on a particular jockey booked.

Deliberate over whipping however should result in the loss of the race the same as careless or dangerous riding. It is our industry that is a stake and we don't need to give those against it any more ammunition.

[London Trader]

On 10/23/2023 at 1:13 PM, PWJ said:

Agreed. No deterrent and the suspension should not be able to be deferred. It also send the message to jockeys that you can flout the whip rule as hard as you want and you won't lose the race. It's also a bad look from an animal welfare point of view as the activists will watch these big races - Melbourne Cup, Caulfield Cup, Cox Plate - eager to see the rules being flouted. I think there should be a rule that if you exceed the allowed hits 3 or more times then you lose the race.

And if every jockey goes over that, who wins the race?

[PWJ]

54 minutes ago, London Trader said:

And if every jockey goes over that, who wins the race?

Unlikely to happen. The mere presence of such a rule would see more circumspection on the part of the jockeys. Ecen now it's usually only the big races where the whip rules are flouted

[PWJ]

On 10/23/2023 at 12:27 PM, Hesi said:

The first time a major race got taken off a horse, it would end up as a court battle, so that would attract even more attention

Can't end in a court battle. Raceday outcome stands no matter what. Too much precedence. I have heard numerous times, owners wanting to take matters to court over a big race and every time lawyers who know racing inside out tell them there is no chance of winning. It stays there.

If this trend continues - flouting whip rules by ridiculous margins in big races - the banning of the whip will come sooner which will be to the detriment of punters, owners, jockeys, trainers in terms of fairness and particularly safety