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The Roar

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Fines coming out of the ‘Bool for whips

Should we all be allowed to whip horses more? (Photo: Paul Barkley/LookPro)
Editor
3rd May, 2017
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One of the Warrnambool carnival’s marquee races on Tuesday has come under a bit of fire after the leading two jockeys were fined for overuse of their whip throughout race six.

Jockey Steven Pateman was handed down a $700 fine while fellow rider John Allen copped $400 in fines.

Both were docked the $400 for using their whip 11 times before the final 100 metres in the Scotty Stewart Brierly Steeplechase.

The legal limit in jump racing is ten whips before the hundred mark leading into the post, which is a slight variation of traditional flat racing which has a limit of just five.

Pateman’s monetary loss is slightly higher because of a second infringement within the same race.

He was punished an extra $300 for whipping his horse, eventual winner Zed Em, in consecutive strides.

The rules permit whipping a horse in consecutive strides in any form of racing, avoiding putting too much strain on the horse.

Zed Em held off Now And Zen, taking the win by a length from the horse ridden by Allen, who in turn was two lengths clear of King Of The Forest.

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The whip has been a controversial part of the horse racing industry in recent years with the concerns over animal health and safety coming into question.

The limitations have been reduced in the last five years in terms of whip usage throughout the race to create safer standards among the horses.

This new incident is fresh off another incident coming just last weekend where a race result from Brisbane has come under fire.

It’s been found that jockey Tiffani Brooker utilised the whip aboard her winning horse Dreams Aplenty more than double that of the legal limit before the final hundred.

After initially going unpunished, Brooker was nailed with a $2,000 fine and given a seven-day suspension thanks to an appeal on the race from Brent Stanley, trainer of the runner-up in that race, Violate.

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