Mixed response to BHA whip amendments

OFFICIALS at the Professional Jockeys’ Association gave a guarded welcome to amendments to the new whip rules announced by the British Horseracing Authority yesterday.

However, chief executive Kevin Darley said in a statement that riders retain “serious concerns about the level of penalties for minor infringements of the rules”.

Among the changes are the removal of the five-hit rule inside the final furlong/after the last obstacle. Jockeys have struggled to come to terms with the guidelines since their introduction last week, which allow no more than seven hits in a flat race and eight over jumps.