New whip penalty guidelines announced for Queensland
New penalty guidelines are being introduced on August 8 to help curb excessive use of the whip in thoroughbred horse racing in Queensland.
From this Saturday, Queensland Racing Integrity Commission (QRIC) Stewards will implement a penalty template which will include substantial fines and suspensions for whip breaches.
Stewards will also consider fines up to the equivalent of a rider’s winning percentage for repeat offenders or offences in feature races.
Peter Chadwick, QRIC Chief Stipendiary Steward – Thoroughbreds, said the new guidelines will bring greater consistency to the penalties covering breaches in the use of the whip as well as acting as a deterrent.
“These new guidelines will provide clear penalties for breaches of the whip rules,” said Mr Chadwick.
“This will assist in providing greater
consistency to the penalties applied and it’ll also ensure that riders are well
aware of the potential penalties for any breaches of the whip rules.
“The new guidelines will also significantly reduce the use of the whip in the last 100 metres of the race as they stipulate that riders cannot use the whip more than 14 times and even less if they’ve already used up some or all of their five permitted use of the whip in the first part of the race.”
The new guidelines, which have been drawn up in consultation with the Queensland Jockeys Association, set out three schedules of penalties which are based on a sliding scale depending on the number of offences.
The three schedules cover:
- Prior to the 100 metres – Consecutive use of the whip within the five permitted times.
- Prior to the 100 metres – Additional use of the whip in excess of the five permitted times.
- The excessive use of the whip over the whole race when it is used 15 times or more.
A rider’s breach of the whip rules prior to 8 August 2020 will not be taken into account when assessing penalty under the new guidelines.
ENDS.
Media Contact Peter Scott 0472 842 346