No different than using a trainer based in Maisons Laffitte to comment on racing at Aqueduct which the New York Times did recently. Amazing how many bushes these guys are willing to beat to find people whose opinion coincides with the editors when it comes to horse racing. (Like giving Jane Smiley a megaphone when she has been out of the sport for years.) For any other topic, that might be considered misleading and not up to their journalistic standards.
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Not that it is relevant to the topic at hand but I did think Victor’s use of the whip in AP’s derby was excessive. I get that the crowd may have backed him off during the stretch but he beat the pants off of him.
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As a non-racing person following this thread, I think your points are EXCELLENT.
I’ve seen plenty of people who use spurs inappropriately… but don’t carry a whip. And it probably would be much kinder for a horse to get one quick smack with a crop, or one tap with the end of a dressage whip, rather than routine digging in the side with spurs by someone who is not in great control of their leg and heels.
I also have to admit that my first thought about banning the use of the whip was, “How in the world is that safe for jockeys or exercise riders?!?”
Having been on my fair share of young and green horses, there are plenty of moments when they are just walking or trotting to warm up, and decide to be stupid and spook or balk or not go forward because they see something. I don’t ride the way the AMAZING athletic folks who sit on racing TBs do. I have a longer stirrup, a saddle with a deeper seat, and am dealing with horses who at least are beginning to learn to go forward because of leg aids. But I’ve had plenty of moments with green horses when I had to react quick and get them going FORWARD for safety’s sake. Because some greenies go straight up if they aren’t going forward. And you know it when one starts balking and feeling like that is the option they might choose in order to be resistant. You get them going forward quick… so that they don’t decide rearing is a useful way to evade issues.
I am utterly perplexed at how it is safe or ok to even consider putting anyone up on a green 2 year old in a busy, spooky, environment at the track during their first few races, and not allow the rider to carry and use a stick.
I’m all for improvements in safety and horse welfare, and have made my views on bisphosphonates clear, but banning whips is stupid and dangerous. Just do what they do in other sports like eventing and jumpers and even dressage at times (there was an INFAMOUS video that went around last year)… penalize or disqualify riders for excessive use of a whip.
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The horse is with the pony until it’s passed to the gate crew. After that, the stick doesn’t do much to control behavior. The jockey doesn’t actually do much riding until the gates open, and during the race, any sudden move by the horse puts the rider on the ground.
Until dressage horses begin breaking their legs in competition and are publicly euthanized , I’m confident the focus will remain on racing, for now.
No whips allowed in upper level competition anyway.
Dressage emerged relatively unscathed from the Rolkur publicity.
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The only difference, in my mind, is who of the general public would have a clue what dressage is? I suspect a much smaller percentage than those who know what horse racing is.
I posted an article from a local Arizona article pointing out that Turf Paradise’s breakdown rate per thousand was, to my mind, significantly higher than most tracks and it appeared to have not caused a ripple even here.
Combined with racing being the cherry for animal rights people. They tried with rolkur but outside the equestrian community, not much traction.
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Yes, it’s hard to get people riled up about horses trotting and cantering around in a sandbox.
Horse racing has been seen by most people in the U.S. even if only on television, and it does look mean to the general public to see horses smacked with the whip when they seem to be running as fast as they can.
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TV news here is covering the Calf. Racing Board meeting. It appears that the rules for crops will be changed. There is a 45-day waiting period for public comment. I did not catch the actual rule that is proposed. It sounded like only in an instance of safety. Perhaps one of you have another source to confirm the specifics of it.
This…sort of alarms me. Unless I am missing something, they are just throwing new rules at this anomaly. I don’t think whipping has had anything to do with these breakdowns. What am I missing?
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Palm Beach
Most of the horses go out in the morning without the pony and I believe they banned use of the whip in the mornings as well. There is a sign at the entrance to the track stating the new whip rules. I think it would be easier to police if they did it like Stevens suggested, European rules. A limit to the number of times it can be used in a race—maybe 3 total?
I can see where a tap to get going and an occasional tap to help with a lead change would be a good idea.
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IK. The person I quoted specifically mentioned racing, not training. Good thing they don’t need a whip to cross the street like they do in Newmarket.
Ultimately, getting a better handle on the drug use is going to be super beneficial for racing. I think (hope) the better horsemen and veterinarians will rise to the top. I think that they also need to institute a policy where you can’t have in your possession on the track certain medications that have no place in racing, which includes vets, their vehicles and any on-site office.
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The first time a gambler feels that his or her horse isn’t making every effort to win, that person will take their money elsewhere. Multiple that by a thousand and it is the end of California racing. Multiple it by a hundred thousand and it is the end of racing in this country.
Riders can kiss their American Thoroughbreds goodbye–there won’t be anymore. Thoroughbreds will be imports like warmbloods or the products of hobby breeders and they will come with warmblood prices.
And if the whip is evil in racing, why wouldn’t it be evil in eventing?
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Well, if by warmblood prices you mean dirt cheap then I agree. There are but a handful of warmbloods in the whole world who sells for the price of a TB youngster which generally start in the six figures and go up to the millions.
As far as the gamblers are concerned, if none of the horses are being whipped the race should still be pretty formful so they likely won’t notice. I do think this is the start of a slippery slope as whenever you let PETA feel like they have a seat at the table the game is over.
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I’m also (at least assuming so) with Laurierace about OOCT. While I don’t feel that drugs were the cause for the spike in breakdowns, it ultimately may be hard to determine how much of a role drugs did play. I do feel that for “serious” drug testing, OOCT is required… not just before/after a race.
At least with TB OOCT, you pretty much know where the horse is; instituting rules that require location always be known at least by the trainer of record. Don’t have to track them down at their home or training center or on vacation like the human bicycle riders 
That would not work. The trainer is only responsible for the horse when the horse is in his care, custody and control. How is the trainer supposed to know what goes on when the horse is at the farm? Or which farm the horse is at? And what if the horse goes to a training center to get legged up before returning to the track? Or to a rehab center?
Change the rules/requirements.
Someone has to know where the horse is. Make that ‘someone’ be a single point of contact while the horse is ‘racing’ (vs retired or long layoff).
Are you not in favor of OOTC?
If you are, then what would be your suggestion for locating a horse to be tested out-of-competition? Not like you can ask their friends or family :lol:
OOCT isn’t ‘how is the trainer supposed to know what is happening at a training center’. It’s potentially testing the horse at a training center for drugs/medications perhaps administered before the horse was physically at that training center.
For OOTC, I’m not suggesting the trainer is responsible for the results of the test. I’m suggesting the trainer is responsible for knowing simply where the horse is physically located so bloodwork can be collected for testing. If a test comes up positive, that’s a, IMO, different tracking/source identification problem.
Trainer, owner… whomever… someone… DRI (Designated Responsible Individual) to know where the horse is.
Here is another update from the LATimes. There is also a Q&A with Stronach in this link. There’s a new thread that started with a release from the Jockey Club. That statement seems to be an over-arching discussion of the need to change racing rules. Thread title is …. paying attention… Sorry I don’t remember it verbatim.
https://www.latimes.com/sports/more/la-sp-santa-anita-reopening-horse-deaths-20190328-story.html
I imagine the owner knows where the horse is since the owner is paying the bills. The trainer can only be responsible for the horses in his or her immediate care. You should spend some time at the track with a busy trainer. You do realize that trainers have dozens, and the top ones hundreds, of horses in their immediate care. How the heck are they supposed to know where the horses not in their care are? How do they know that the filly that went to the farm 3 months ago got sold and is now several states away? Are they supposed to call every owner of any horse that has been in their barn every day and ask where the horse is? How do you suggest they track this information anyway? These guys are BUSY doing their day jobs. Having them be responsible for tracking horses that left is ridiculous.
