Abuse in Racing

[snaffle1987]

It’s a tough topic to discuss but feel it is one that needs to be had. As with any industry involving animals; abuse happens and there are just as many good people as there are bad. But in the modern era where social media platforms play such a massive role in everyday life; I am surprised that more people are not demanding change in some form. The actions from some outlets of racing fail to realize the impact of their decisions on certain topics in the eyes of the public race-fan and the eyes of groups like PETA and animal rights groups who will fuel any fire.

I recently came across the incident of the Delaware Park starter who punched a horse, Accolade, in the face 4 times after he acted up in the gate. Delaware Park immediately suspended the veteran starter but then retracted their statements and let him off without any disciplinary action. The video originally went viral on Twitter.
You can see the video of it here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnTl2Pfve0A

The horse acted up. A starters job is dangerous. There is no denying either But there is absolutely NO reason why this sort of behavior is not harshly reprimanded and set down. If you watch the video you can see how absurd the behavior of the starter is. Originally the owner of the horse was irate about what happened but the trainer of the horse talked him off the ledge on the grounds that the trainer was good friends with the starter who has been a starter for 20+ years. I don’t know how anyone else feels, but 20+ years of having a job as a starter doesn’t justify beating a horse in the head IN ANY scenario. Not to mention further frightening a horse who is obviously set-off by the environment of the starting gate.

Now before you rip me up one side and down the other, I firmly believe that certain horses need a strong hand, need to be reprimanded and disciplined when the time is right. But disciplining an animal does not equal punching it in the head 4 times because you lost your temper.

You can read the Paulick Report article here; it’s eye opening to say the least. As are the comments on the article supporting the assistant starter for blatant abuse of a clients horse.

https://www.paulickreport.com/news/the-biz/no-disciplinary-action-taken-against-delaware-park-assistant-starter/

[snaffle1987]

I would also like to note that the behavior of the starter was noted on the official race chart: ACCOLADE was fractious in the gate, was struck several times by assistant start prior to the break, bobbled at the start, was forwardly placed then weakened".

He finished 2nd to last

[snaffle1987]

the other problem I see is not just incidents like noted above but the one elephant in the room that no one wants to talk about: Whip Use.

this topic is covered immensely by Paulick Report. You can find many articles on the subject in the archives.

Frankie Dettori may have swept Royal Ascot this past week but he was also set down 7 days and fined 4300 pounds for over-use of the whip on winner, Without Parole. Another jockey was also suspended 2 days in the St James for overuse of the whip. The jockey was Donnacha O’Brien on 2nd place winner Gustav Klimt.
You can watch the St James in which Dettori and Obrien where both fined for overuse of the whip
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J95mQc1nQvM

Just from reading racing headlines daily, it seems a lot of the European races and top jocks over there are constantly being suspended a few days and a few thousand pounds for overuse of the whip; perhaps because they actually have whip rules over there but no one follows them (8 strikes on the horse limit), no one cares if they are found at fault because the consequences are just a slap on the wrist.

How about the all out beating of exhausted Native River (a horse I adore) in the Cheltenham Gold Cup which also earned his jockey a suspension for the abuse.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JtDOs9nljY

And lets focus back on the American racing where rules are just about nonexistent

321 - 32 hits on American Pharoah in the Derby. An all out beating from the top of the stretch
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vjUpxnkx8E

Calvin Borrels ride on Rachel Alexandra: 23 hits in the stretch
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysO_Fhc8Fpw

Victor Espinosa was also fined for his excessive whip use on Stellar Wind in the Santa Anita Oaks. He was fined a whopping $300.00 for the incident. He actually BROKE skin on the mare:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbnR4KnywlY

Should we ban whips? I think the time is now. Use of the whip in the past decade has reached beyond abusive levels. Not just the amount of times it is inflicted upon the horse but the manner in which it is used. If we go back to archived videos of prominent races; we do not see the same use of the whip as we do today but in the amount it is used and the manner in which the jockey hits the horse. Today; it seems as though jockeys are using the full swing of the arm to hit the horse in the hardest possible manner (notice the above video of AP’s Derby) compared to that of the way Calvin Borrel swings at RA.

We live in a world where public perception is paramount. Racing is a struggling industry but in order to grow and find new audiences; this is one thing that needs to end. imagine how much more interesting racing would be if we weren’t beating the horses, the true stars of the sport, to the finish. A good article to read with educated perspective:

https://www.paulickreport.com/news/the-biz/commentary-racing-must-accept-inevitable-ban-use-whip/

[Where_sMyWhite]

I agree that whip overuse is a valid use.

I know sometimes that the use of a whip gets “miscounted” when the jock is just fanning the whip at the horse without making contact but I would agree not in AP’s example.

A partial reason is that for the average public, they may not really notice “overuse” of the whip. Not saying that makes it right.

It’ll get fixed when PETA puts whip overuse in their sights Would be nice if the industry was more on board. California does have whip usage limitations but I think without more effective teeth or an whips in general, not sure the overuse would stop.

Peeps in the industry, your thoughts on banning whips completely in racing? I’d be curious.

[PeteyPie]

@snaffle1987

the other problem I see is not just incidents like noted above but the one elephant in the room that no one wants to talk about: Whip Use…

…Should we ban whips? I think the time is now. Use of the whip in the past decade has reached beyond abusive levels. Not just the amount of times it is inflicted upon the horse but the manner in which it is used. If we go back to archived videos of prominent races; we do not see the same use of the whip as we do today but in the amount it is used and the manner in which the jockey hits the horse. Today; it seems as though jockeys are using the full swing of the arm to hit the horse in the hardest possible manner (notice the above video of AP’s Derby) compared to that of the way Calvin Borrel swings at RA.

I can see the value in the humane use of a whip as a communication device in a sport where the rider can’t really communicate with his legs because of the short stirrups. A tap to change leads, a tap to move over, maybe a tap to speed up, for example. But in real life whip use escalates, as you have pointed out. I can’t stand seeing a horse beaten and I don’t know why it is allowed. It doesn’t help the sport’s image either.

At least we should have some rules and limits in whip use which are enforced, and fines may not be enough if they are just a cost of doing business; suspensions need to be implemented as well.

[EventerAJ]

I don’t think whips should be banned entirely, as there is a possibility that a whip would help in guiding the horse safely. A horse that blows the turn, or lugs into the path of another horse, for example. I don’t see any harm in using it to signal the reluctant horse to change leads, or “go now” with one good tap.

By all means, punish the senseless beating of a horse who is already trying and running straight.

[Palm_Beach]

From the point of view of people who have never ever ridden a race horse or swung a whip and have absolutely no idea what they are talking about.

Forget horses, what about people??? Those poor poor poor world cup soccer players in screaming agony rolling on the ground every 30 seconds!! BAN SOCCER!!!

[Where_sMyWhite]

@Palm Beach

orget horses, what about people??? Those poor poor poor world cup soccer players in screaming agony rolling on the ground every 30 seconds!! BAN SOCCER!!!

:rolleyes: those poor drama queens trying to draw penalties players rolling on the ground??? :lol:

[snaffle1987]

@PeteyPie

I can see the value in the humane use of a whip as a communication device in a sport where the rider can’t really communicate with his legs because of the short stirrups. A tap to change leads, a tap to move over, maybe a tap to speed up, for example. But in real life whip use escalates, as you have pointed out. I can’t stand seeing a horse beaten and I don’t know why it is allowed. It doesn’t help the sport’s image either.

At least we should have some rules and limits in whip use which are enforced, and fines may not be enough if they are just a cost of doing business; suspensions need to be implemented as well.

I can agree with this. it can be a valuable tool for steering as well.

[snaffle1987]

@Palm Beach

From the point of view of people who have never ever ridden a race horse or swung a whip and have absolutely no idea what they are talking about.

Forget horses, what about people??? Those poor poor poor world cup soccer players in screaming agony rolling on the ground every 30 seconds!! BAN SOCCER!!!

the fact that you are basically comparing beating an animal for 1/4 of a mile to soccer players overreacting for penalties in their favor is borderline disgusting.

I can agree that Whips should still be carried for safety’s sake (steering!) but should we still be permitting the blatant abuse of an animal to the wire in a race. The sport needs fans, needs to appeal to those people who would like to attend a race once a year. The way that the industry has allowed whip-use to develop in the sport is sad and coming from an avid race-fan and race-goer it honestly makes me think twice on supporting the industry. We should be better than that in this day and age

[RPM]

I am actually glad to hear that about Frankie Dettori (that he was set down). I hated the way he was smacking another horse. All the while the announcers were calling him the greatest and most popular jockey there. I didn’t like him at all.

As to what I think about whips in racing (I am not in racing), I hate it. I think it would be interesting to see some races without whips. But then, as you and some others have pointed out, whips are also used as just aids to get a horse out of trouble, but could there be a rule where they could be used only for that but not for trying to make a horse run faster?

[Palm_Beach]

@snaffle1987

the fact that you are basically comparing beating an animal for 1/4 of a mile to soccer players overreacting for penalties in their favor is borderline disgusting.

I can agree that Whips should still be carried for safety’s sake (steering!) but should we still be permitting the blatant abuse of an animal to the wire in a race. The sport needs fans, needs to appeal to those people who would like to attend a race once a year. The way that the industry has allowed whip-use to develop in the sport is sad and coming from an avid race-fan and race-goer it honestly makes me think twice on supporting the industry. We should be better than that in this day and age

Again, those of you who have never sat on a race horse or swung a whip are way way way off track. Pun intended. Whips are not used to steer or as aids to get a horse out of trouble. That’s laughable. Complain about something that you have actual experience with, not hype you’ve only read about.

[Palm_Beach]

@snaffle1987

I can agree with this. it can be a valuable tool for steering as well.

Let’s hear a story about how you steered a race horse with a whip. Or how you picked a horse up after a race and he had whip marks all over him. Do you even know how much a whip weighs? Go check Google real quick. When a rider has a whip made up, what are the 2 most important things he or she requests?

[Mukluk]

I often wonder how the sport would be affected if whips were banned. My fear is that if whips were banned, perhaps something worse would be utilized instead, such as electric shock. I really hate to see Jockeys repeatedly hitting horses. Maybe the rule should be that for each time they hit the horse, at the end of the race they are hit in the same way?

[PeteyPie]

@Palm Beach

Again, those of you who have never sat on a race horse or swung a whip are way way way off track. Pun intended. Whips are not used to steer or as aids to get a horse out of trouble. That’s laughable. Complain about something that you have actual experience with, not hype you’ve only read about.

It would be nice to hear your opinion about over-use of the whip, or if you think that is a thing. If whips are not used to steer or as aids to get a horse out of trouble, what is the purpose of a whip in your experience? How effective is the use of a whip in getting a horse to run faster, in your opinion?

[On_the_Farm]

Even though she was the darling of a lot of people, her use of the whip was why I was never a great fan of Julie Krone. However, and to repeat a story I’ve shared here, the worst whip abuse I’ve seen came via a teenage girl at the Skidmore Classic at Saratoga. She was simply trying to ride at a level beyond her ability and when her horse finally refused because she didn’t have the confidence to push him on, out came the crop for several smacks of punishment. I was appalled at how some people were nodding approval over the rider’s actions and I certainly received a lot of nasty stares when I blurted out, “Don’t beat up the horse, you were telling him to stop.”

One thing to use a whip to keep a horse to task, another to punish a horse for doing nothing wrong.

[Palm_Beach]

@PeteyPie

It would be nice to hear your opinion about over-use of the whip, or if you think that is a thing. If whips are not used to steer or as aids to get a horse out of trouble, what is the purpose of a whip in your experience? How effective is the use of a whip in getting a horse to run faster, in your opinion?

It doesn’t do much more than wake them up a bit, get them in gear, and see if there is anything else left in the tank. The most important thing it does is give the appearance that the rider is doing as much as possible to get the best finish.

For those of you who think the riders are actually inflicting any pain, try this at home, since you’ve never been on the back of a horse at racing speed, much less tried to swing a whip and make meaningful contact with a horse’s haunches:

Get on a skateboard or castor board or something that rolls fast. Balance on the balls of your feet, and crouch down so low that your buttocks are only a few inches above your heels. Bounce up and down a bit to mimic the rise and fall of a horse’s body as it gallops. Put your hands out in front of you and mimic holding reins, and push them forward and then let them come back to you, since the horse’s neck also rises and falls in rhythm with the stride. Hold a whip in either hand. Roll downhill at 35 miles a hour, all the while balancing and bouncing on the balls of your feet with both hands in front of you going with the imaginary horse’s head bob. Now take both reins in one hand and turn your stick over and see how hard you could possibly make contact with the imaginary horse’s haunches without losing your rhythm and falling off. Oh yeah, and you are pretty tired at that point because nothing can condition you to ride a race except riding races, and even the experienced riders are getting tired towards the wire.

[snaffle1987]

@Palm Beach

Let’s hear a story about how you steered a race horse with a whip. Or how you picked a horse up after a race and he had whip marks all over him. Do you even know how much a whip weighs? Go check Google real quick. When a rider has a whip made up, what are the 2 most important things he or she requests?

this thread was meant to be a professional discussion on an obviously key topic in racing. Whips have been used to help steer a horse in the stretch; especially those with severe drifting problems. Yes, they can be a safety measure when needed. The general public does not want to go to a weekend race and see horses repeatedly beat to the wire; no matter the “justification” for doing so. This is one of the reasons why racing is hard to gather fans.

I honestly don’t care about how much a whip weighs. The point is mute. When a jockey is using their full strength to hit a horse 23+ times in the stretch, you cannot tell me that it does not affect the horse in some harmful way. A horse can feel the gram of a fly touching their skin. As noted above; Victor Espinoza was fine $300 for breaking the skin on Stellar Wind after the on-site veterinarian noted the injury in the test barn after the race! The point being made there is VE broke skin on the mare and this Vet actually had the nuts to stand up and say “this is wrong”. How many simply let welt marks and other problems with whips slip under the radar.

There are minimal whip rules in the USA and if there are at certain tracks, they are rarely upheld or vague enough to make it difficult to enforce.

If a hunter/jumper rider or event rider whipped their mount that many times in the arena they would be investigated for abuse. Racing is the only equine sector that has allowed this to continue on and, IMHO, get worse with time.

[Palm_Beach]

@snaffle1987

When a jockey is using their full strength to hit a horse 23+ times in the stretch, you cannot tell me that it does not affect the horse in some harmful way. .

That’s where you are wrong. You don’t understand what it is like to be on a racing horse and swinging a whip to hit something that is 180 degrees behind you.

[snaffle1987]

@Palm Beach

It doesn’t do much more than wake them up a bit, get them in gear, and see if there is anything else left in the tank. The most important thing it does is give the appearance that the rider is doing as much as possible to get the best finish.

For those of you who think the riders are actually inflicting any pain, try this at home, since you’ve never been on the back of a horse at racing speed, much less tried to swing a whip and make meaningful contact with a horse’s haunches:

Get on a skateboard or castor board or something that rolls fast. Balance on the balls of your feet, and crouch down so low that your buttocks are only a few inches above your heels. Bounce up and down a bit to mimic the rise and fall of a horse’s body as it gallops. Put your hands out in front of you and mimic holding reins, and push them forward and then let them come back to you, since the horse’s neck also rises and falls in rhythm with the stride. Hold a whip in either hand. Roll downhill at 35 miles a hour, all the while balancing and bouncing on the balls of your feet with both hands in front of you going with the imaginary horse’s head bob. Now take both reins in one hand and turn your stick over and see how hard you could possibly make contact with the imaginary horse’s haunches without losing your rhythm and falling off. Oh yeah, and you are pretty tired at that point because nothing can condition you to ride a race except riding races, and even the experienced riders are getting tired towards the wire.

Jockeys are the best in their field of work. They are skilled enough that being on a racehorse and balancing in their irons is like second nature to them. Much like riding a bike; much like the rest of us who get on a horse everyday even for casual stuff. They are extremely fit. Fit enough that they could exercise horses in the morning and then go ride every race on the card if hired to do so with little fatigue. They have to be if they want to be hired and be successful in their field of work. it isn’t easy. You are not the only poster on this board with experience and know-how of the business; so please refrain from thinking you are. to say the jockeys are not inflicting any pain is wrong. If there wasn’t any pain, then what exactly do you think is “waking them up, getting them in gear and seeing if they have anything left in the tank”. Horses can feel the gram of a fly on their skin, how do you think a whip on their flank 23+ times feels at full swing from a human hand?

This is a topic of discussion that needs to be had.

The fact of the matter is that by the stretch; jockeys are using their full strength and range of motion to hit a horse behind their saddle. These are not light taps. Please review the video of AP’s derby and explain what happened there and how that is justified.

I am not saying VE is a bad guy, I think he genuinely loves the horses he rides and wins on. But his whipping technique is one of the harshest I have yet to see.

The current problem with racing, whether you tend to agree with me or not, is that the industry as a whole is in it for the $$, the purse money, the money being bet, etc and protecting the people within the industry rope rather than standing up for what is good and right in the name of the horses who are the true stars of the sport. This is evident in the decision made by the stewards in the Delaware Park fiasco.