‘Jockeys have had enough warnings’, says Nicky Henderson as strict new whip rules set to be announced

RACING chiefs are expected to announce a controversial crackdown on the whip on Tuesday. A radical overhaul of the current whip rules means horses could be DISQUALIFIED if a jockey uses the whip too many times in a race. The BHA launched a consultation into the whip last summer in the form of an online […]

RACING chiefs are expected to announce a controversial crackdown on the whip on Tuesday.

A radical overhaul of the current whip rules means horses could be DISQUALIFIED if a jockey uses the whip too many times in a race.

PA:Press Association

Richard Johnson (right) broke the whip rules when winning the Gold Cup in 2018[/caption]

The BHA launched a consultation into the whip last summer in the form of an online questionnaire, as well as speaking to the sport’s participants.

Current whip rules in the UK limit jockeys to seven strokes on the Flat and eight over jumps.

Under the new rules, which were leaked to the Daily Mail last week, if a rider goes four strokes over the limit their horses could be thrown out.

If these rules had been in place in April, Grand National winner Noble Yeats would have been disqualified after jockey Sam Waley-Cohen used the whip 14 times.

Six-time champ Nicky Henderson is one of the most high-profile trainers to come out in support of the proposed new rules.

He highlighted Might Bite’s second-place finish to Native River in the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 2018.

Winning rider Richard Johnson used the whip 13 times in the closing stages, earning a seven-day ban and a fine, and under the proposed new rules the horse would have been chucked out.

Henderson said: “If we had these rules in place a few years ago, we would categorically have won the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

“It is a very contentious issue, nobody wants to see jockeys be excessive with the whip, you can see both sides of the argument.

“I think it is going to cause a lot of fierce debate and we have been on the wrong side of it over the years.

“I personally think the jockeys have had enough warnings and sadly I think they had to do something to bring it under control.”

It remains to be seen how the strict new rules will affect punters, a point Henderson raised.

He added: “What about punters? Would they pay out on the winner? It is a very complicated issue and one that could get quite messy.”

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