Australian jockeys staged a mass nationwide walkout Thursday in protest at the introduction of new rules restricting the use of whips.
Race meetings in four different states were canceled when leading jockeys refused to continue riding after the Australian Racing Board (ARB) rejected their plea to amend the new laws.
The ARB introduced rules at the start of last month implementing the use of padded whips and restricting the number of times jockeys can hit a horse in the last 200 meters of a race.
But the decision over the number of times jockeys can hit their horses has been widely criticized by sections of the racing community who believe the rules prevent horses from racing on their merits and the subsequent penalties and suspensions handed down to jockeys were unfair.
Jockeys provided a submission asking to be allowed to use their own discretion over the last 100 meters of a race as long as they were in contention, but their request was rejected, prompting the immediate strike action.
“With its decision today to ignore the call of all stakeholders to make a minor variation to the rules relating to the whip, the ARB has succeeded in unleashing a great bitterness and division between stakeholders and administrators,” the Australian Jockeys’ Association (AJA) said in a statement.
“It shows the ARB is completely out of touch with its constituents.”
Jockey Glen Boss, who has ridden the winner of the Melbourne Cup on three occasions, said riders had been given no alternative other than to take matters into their own hands.
“We certainly didn’t want it to come to this but as a jockeys’ association we have got to show our strength,” Boss told Australia’s TVN racing network.
“We’ve tried to go to the ARB to explain the situation that we just need to tweak. We’re not asking for a lot. We are asking for 100 meters where we can do our best and we’ve got the support of everyone in the industry.”
Thursday’s walkout threatens to spill over into this weekend’s multi million dollar Spring Carnival races but the ARB said they were standing by their new rules, although they will be reviewed as planned in February 2010.
“Ultimately the Australian Racing Board’s obligation is to do what is in the best interests of the industry, now and in the future, not what is popular,” ARB chairman Bob Bentley said in a statement.
“In this instance the Board does not believe that there is evidence that warrants backtracking on the changes that came into effect on 1st August, 2009. This decision was arrived at unanimously.”
The ARB rules include a limit on the number of times a jockey can hit a horse before the last 200m, and a ban on hitting horses in three consecutive strides in the final 200m.
-By Julian Linden l Reuters