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Racing Post: “However, a spokesman for the BHA said there was “very little justification” for the use of the whip by the jockeys in the closing stages of the King George and that hefty penalties were needed to “safeguard the perception of the sport [and] maintain fairness in close finishes”.”
I’d say in a photo-finish to one of the biggest races all year in Europe there’s every justification for jockeys using every means at their immediate disposal to try to win.
The game has gone….
….MAD.
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"The spokesman (not courageous enough to give his name?) for the BHA, sounds clueless on the subject, as do most of them at the BHA.
I am going to guess the number of people at Ascot who watched the exciting finish and were upset was a number less than 1.
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KK Hennessy has been banned for life (reduced to 30 years) after striking Henry Adams 62 times
when told that the horse was disqualified after the tenth stroke he replied “yeah but the lads collect first past the post, so they do”Charles Darwin to conquer the World
Number of people in the wider world who noticed when Lester Piggott virtually cut Roberto (and it didn’t stop Roberto bouncing back fresh as paint to floor the great Brigadier Gerard at York) in half to win The Derby: Zero.
Number of people in the wider world who will notice this because Jim Crowley has been given a headline-grabbing £10,000 fine and a 20-day ban for using a pro-cush about half the times Piggott coshed Roberto: Millions (because, insanely, attention is drawn to it by these truly absurd punishments).
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"Quite so, ID. A classic case of racing shooting itself in the foot with both barrels.
What Piggott did in relation to Crowley is not relevant. What Piggott did and no doubt many others at the time is disgraceful and whether people at the time noticed or not is again not important. Personally I would like to have tied Piggott to a post and whipped him until he bled but that is an aside.
Crowley broke the rules and whether we agree or disagree with said rules it is what it is.The more I know the less I understand.
As freely stated, Roberto was given a very hard time by Piggott at Epsom: https://youtu.be/vOL4Sqk_0Ss
But Roberto was a RACEHORSE, bred to RACE, and when he comes out and does this to Brigadier Gerard at York, it’s hard for me to believe he suffered any adverse effects from his Derby ride whatsoever: https://youtu.be/GNsATgJA50g
The relevance of all this to me is that, for all its many faults, racing in the 1970s didn’t positively invite scrutiny and adverse publicity then the way it seems to today.
For me it is too facile to simply say Crowley broke the rules because I believe the rules are an utter nonsense and the punishments are an even bigger nonsense because they shine a self-destructive light on the game.
Game of opinions, though.
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"So playing Devils Advocate Ian, if the rules are an utter nonsense, what do you think we should have in their place?
Also Lester’s whip was much tougher than the pro cushion of today. Seems there is no middle ground for a lot of folk. Just as a wee thought. Surely some jockeys are stronger than others so can hit harder. Lester was so strong in the saddle as opposed to others who weren’t.
“So playing Devils Advocate Ian, if the rules are an utter nonsense, what do you think we should have in their place?”
No whip limit whatsoever, a centralised (for consistency) panel of stewards instead use discretion to identify abusive rides and hand out sanctions accordingly.
Quite apart from drawing adverse attention to racing from the wider world, many are now saying Westover might have won had his jockey broken the rules to the extent Hukum’s rider did.
If we return to no limit, that issue goes away.
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"Yes horses are bred to race but they also have a right not to suffer abuse from those who use them as a tool for gain which is what multiple people have done in the past and to say Roberto suffered no adverse affect is based on what, he won another race?
I can only look at Crowleys fine and ban at face value so maybe that is facile and whether I agree with the rules is neither here nor there and I have yo say had little sympathy for his views on ITV today.The more I know the less I understand.
The jockeys know the rules but intentionally break them . Jim Crowley went to 9, one short of a DQ. Do you really think that is a coincidence?
It was a win at all costs ride. Exactly the sort of thing that the BHA want to avoid in high profile ‘public’ races.
“a centralised (for consistency)panel” – if one thing were designed for INCONSISTENCY a ‘panel’ would be it.
The whip will go eventually, and it can’t come soon enough.
I would actually prefer to see the whip banned altogether than what we have right now.
Westover’s backers feel robbed, because their jockey was the lesser rule breaker, and animal welfare activists outside racing can have a field day because the sport has given a jockey a big fine and a lengthy ban.
Both inside and outside the game the rules are unsatisfactory.
I made no comment at all on whether or not the nine was a coincidence, so not sure what that’s all about, and a centralised panel is obviously going to be more consistent than individual panels at every track in the land.
I think that just about covers it.
Except….I’ve read various stats this year to suggest that the current whip rules are bestowing an advantage on front runners.
It could be a very different sport altogether tactically if use of, or even carrying, a whip is completely banned.
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"I believe whips have been banned in at least one Scandinavian country (Norway?). I’d like to see some stats on if/how that has affected race running.
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