Kentucky to Consider Whip Penalty Changes

The penalty structure for the new slate of restrictive whipping regulations passed by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) back on June 16 appears to be on its way to an overhaul after the KHRC Rules Committee unanimously voted Sept. 29 to present a “days instead of dollars” system to the full board for reconsideration.

In essence, a series of escalating disciplinary actions will replace the suspension-plus-fine system that was originally based on a percentage of the purse being taken away from  riders who violate the “six underhanded strikes per race” rule (with only two of those strikes allowed in succession and with whipping in the first furlong of races not counting against the six strikes).

On Tuesday, committee members debated whether removing the monetary fines would provide enough of a deterrent to keep jockeys from violating the new rules, which have not yet gone into effect. They also discussed how the Kentucky penalty structure might or might not contribute to nationwide uniformity, as a number of other jurisdictions are also in the midst of implementing new anti-whipping rules.

Trainer Wesley Ward, a retired champion jockey, told fellow committee members that, “I don't think that fining them is going to make any difference at all. The days is what really stops things.

“I've been in both situations,” Ward continued. “As a rider, you're getting down into the race, and if you can hit [your mount] they win. [So] I think a lot depends on the rider and the significance of the race. That's number one. And when you talk about the [GI] Kentucky Derby, you're not going to stop the guys [from whipping beyond the rules]. They're going to take a [suspension] or whatever if they feel they need to do that to win the race. Now on an everyday Wednesday or Thursday, I think they're going to adhere to the rules.”

Rules Committee chair Mark Simendinger candidly admitted that, “I guess my feeling is that the chances of us getting this right the first time is probably not real high. I would just like to get started and see how it goes. And once we start seeing whether it's working or not working it's going to become more apparent to us what we have to do to make the changes that we have to.”

The KHRC's Safety and Welfare Committee will next need to sign off on the changes, with the full commission likely voting on the new penalties at its Oct. 20 meeting.

According to an edited and redlined set of the new proposed penalties, seven or more strikes of a horse by a riding crop in a race shall result in penalties as follows:

First offense: a verbal warning.

Second offense: One to three-day suspension (discretion of the stewards, for this item and those below).

Third offense: Three to five-day suspension.

Fourth offense: Five to 10-day suspension.

Fifth offense: 10 to 15-day suspension

Sixth offense or more: Up to one-year suspension.

The stewards will retain the discretion to assess a suspension of up to one year for an egregious misuse of the crop, regardless of the number of times that the jockey struck the horse or the number of times that the jockey or driver had previously violated this regulation.

If a jockey rides for six consecutive months without a crop violation in any jurisdiction, then his or her penalty schedule is reset, such that subsequent crop violations will constitute a first offense.

The stewards and commission shall consider any mitigating or aggravating circumstances properly presented when assessing penalties pursuant to this administrative regulation.

A rider cannot receive multiple disciplinary actions on the same race card without verbal confirmation of any prior rule violations by the stewards. Failure of prior notice will result in a single violation recorded for the race card.

A suspension may be increased if it is determined that an appeal of stewards' ruling under this regulation is deemed “frivolous.”