Horse racing: Whipping attracts punishment for jockeys
AS horses reach the final run approaching the winning post, the jockeys start cracking the whip. The swinging hit reminds the horses about the task ahead and its urgency. It looks perfectly normal at that stage but it indeed becomes abnormal for jockeys when they are expected to count those hits!
The short men in the saddle have no option but to count those hits as, the moment the number crosses 8, it attracts punishment. "This is a ridiculous rule," says a jockey. "If I'm riding a horse which has attracted a lot of public money, you expect me to count and not hit him beyond eight! What if the horse loses the race due to lack of whipping? It would cost the betting public dear."
But why hit in the first place? Because it's a necessity. Like humans, horses also have a personality and they all need to be dealt with in different ways. There are some horses which need to be coaxed, while for others no amount of cajoling will do. Whipping then becomes a necessity, otherwise the racing public stand to lose a lot of their hard-earned money.
But the rule book at the Royal Western India Turf Club (RWITC), the premier racing club in India, says a jockey would be handed out a fine of Rs 1000 if he is found guilty of hitting a horse more than eight times. For the second such offence, he is fined Rs 3000. A third such act in the season would attract a suspension of two days and if the jockey commits it for the fourth time, he is deprived of use of the whip for the rest of the racing season! An owner would think twice before giving his horse to a whipless jockey. Even the punters (those who lay bets) would not back such horses.
Upcoming jockey Trevor Patel has already paid for this 'crime' this season. He was suspended for two days by the RWITC officials for using the whip beyond the prescribed limit earlier this month. It was his third offence in the two-and-a-half month old racing season.
On an average, a jockey is fined everyday at the races for over-whippin! g. Horse s are not just whipped to ensure that their chance of winning is not compromised; they are also whipped to remain steady and avoid getting bumped by other horses. They are also whipped to avoid causing check to other horses and hamper their run. "No we don't do that," says Pradyumna Singh, senior stipendiary steward at RWITC. "We don't count such hits if we believe the jockey did it to avoid interferences to other runners or to steady his horse."
The use of whip is never questioned but it is its misuse that is scrutinised. Former Union minister Maneka Gandhi changed the whip laws in 2001. She forced the racing clubs in India to put the restriction on number of whips.
Gandhi had also forced the clubs to introduce aircushion whips which are much lighter in impact as compared to the whalebone whips which were in use earlier. Jockeys are anyway not allowed to raise their hand above shoulder high to use the whip.
The short men in the saddle have no option but to count those hits as, the moment the number crosses 8, it attracts punishment. "This is a ridiculous rule," says a jockey. "If I'm riding a horse which has attracted a lot of public money, you expect me to count and not hit him beyond eight! What if the horse loses the race due to lack of whipping? It would cost the betting public dear."
But why hit in the first place? Because it's a necessity. Like humans, horses also have a personality and they all need to be dealt with in different ways. There are some horses which need to be coaxed, while for others no amount of cajoling will do. Whipping then becomes a necessity, otherwise the racing public stand to lose a lot of their hard-earned money.
But the rule book at the Royal Western India Turf Club (RWITC), the premier racing club in India, says a jockey would be handed out a fine of Rs 1000 if he is found guilty of hitting a horse more than eight times. For the second such offence, he is fined Rs 3000. A third such act in the season would attract a suspension of two days and if the jockey commits it for the fourth time, he is deprived of use of the whip for the rest of the racing season! An owner would think twice before giving his horse to a whipless jockey. Even the punters (those who lay bets) would not back such horses.
Upcoming jockey Trevor Patel has already paid for this 'crime' this season. He was suspended for two days by the RWITC officials for using the whip beyond the prescribed limit earlier this month. It was his third offence in the two-and-a-half month old racing season.
On an average, a jockey is fined everyday at the races for over-whippin! g. Horse s are not just whipped to ensure that their chance of winning is not compromised; they are also whipped to remain steady and avoid getting bumped by other horses. They are also whipped to avoid causing check to other horses and hamper their run. "No we don't do that," says Pradyumna Singh, senior stipendiary steward at RWITC. "We don't count such hits if we believe the jockey did it to avoid interferences to other runners or to steady his horse."
The use of whip is never questioned but it is its misuse that is scrutinised. Former Union minister Maneka Gandhi changed the whip laws in 2001. She forced the racing clubs in India to put the restriction on number of whips.
Gandhi had also forced the clubs to introduce aircushion whips which are much lighter in impact as compared to the whalebone whips which were in use earlier. Jockeys are anyway not allowed to raise their hand above shoulder high to use the whip.
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