New whip guidelines set for Tuesday start

The latest revisions to the whip rules will be introduced on Tuesday, the British Horseracing Authority said in a statement today.

While retaining the existing threshold for a rider’s use of the whip on both the Flat and over jumps, stewards will now be able to exercise discretion when reviewing a jockey’s use of the whip throughout a race.

The trigger for stewards to review a rider’s use of the whip remains eight times or more for Flat races and nine times or more over jumps.

But rather than such use representing an automatic breach, and thus a suspension, the stewards will look at the ride and decide whether or not to hold an inquiry.

The new rules are to be established just seven days before the beginning of the Cheltenham Festival, the four-day centrepiece of the National Hunt calendar.

BHA chief executive Paul Bittar said: “The focus over the coming weeks should be on Cheltenham and Aintree, the climax to what has been a fantastic jumps season and then on the start of what promises to be another vintage year for Flat racing.”