Following his ride on Alphonse Le Grande in the Club Godolphin Cesarewitch Handicap on Saturday 12 October, apprentice jockey Jamie Powell was referred to the Whip Review Committee (WRC) for use of the whip above the permitted level.
Having reviewed the footage and taken evidence from the jockey, the stewards on the day counted that the rider had used his whip 10 times, which is four uses above the permitted level of six in a Flat race. The ride and all evidence was therefore referred to the WRC, as is standard practice.
The WRC meets every Tuesday and Friday. Having reviewed the race and the evidence, the WRC have confirmed that the whip was used on 10 occasions by Mr Powell. All 10 uses made contact with the horse, and none of the uses were clearly and unequivocally for safety purposes only.
As 10 uses of the whip is four above the permitted level, Alphonse Le Grande has been disqualified from the race. In addition, Jamie Powell has been suspended for 28 days, this being a Class 2 contest with a total prize fund of more than £150,000.
As a result of the disqualification, the Club Godolphin Cesarewitch has been awarded to original runner-up, Manxman.
Should they wish to, connections of Alphonse Le Grande may appeal this decision. They have seven days to lodge an appeal, which would be heard by an independent Judicial Panel.
Brant Dunshea, Chief Regulatory Officer for the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), said:
“Disqualification was introduced as a deterrent against flagrant misuse of the whip, in order to safeguard the fairness of race results and perception amongst the sport’s fans. It has since been adopted by other major racing nations.
“It sends a clear message that we do not tolerate misuse of the whip. There is simply no excuse for using the whip four times or more above the permitted level. It is encouraging that there have been so few instances of this being the case since the rule was introduced, with this being only the third time a winner has been disqualified for egregious overuse of the whip
“We understand that some customers will question why this matter cannot be resolved on raceday, especially those who backed the on-the-day runner up Manxman. However, this would present its own challenges, and the consultation process of the whip review revealed a strong preference from several key audiences that these matters should be handled away from raceday.
“The Whip Review Committee (WRC) was introduced to ensure consistency of decision-making around whip decisions. It is critical that decisions of such importance as potential disqualification are handled in a consistent manner via this process.
“This has already proved invaluable as on more than one occasion a ride has been referred to the WRC carrying potential disqualification, but subsequently one or more uses of the whip discounted by the WRC and the ride therefore not disqualified.”
FURTHER INFORMATION
The Whip Review Committee
One of the core findings of the 2021/22 whip consultation was the desire for increased consistency when it came to decision-making regarding whip offences. This was cited as a priority amongst a majority of consulted audiences, including participants, the betting public and other customers and the media.
As a result the formation of the WRC was recommended by the Whip Consultation Steering Group – the body responsible for leading the whip review, consisting of the BHA, jockeys, trainers, media and other representatives from across the sport and externally.
Made up of Stewards or individuals with stewarding experience, the WRC is responsible for evaluation of all referred rides and any necessary sanction or action, to ensure consistency in decision making and drive ongoing improvement in riding standards.
The WRC which considered today’s referrals was:
Sam Angell: Chair
Richard Fuller
Steve Drowne
Disqualification
One of the core recommendations proposed by the Whip Consultation Steering Group was for disqualification to be introduced for offences in which the whip has been used four times or more above the permitted level in all races.
Disqualification offences will be considered by the Whip Review Committee away from raceday and therefore results of races are not affected for betting purposes.
Disqualification is intended to be the ultimate deterrent to prevent misuse of the whip, to safeguard fairness in race results and public perception amongst current and potential fans.
Since the new rules have been introduced there have now been only three cases of winning rides being disqualified for overuse of the whip, from over 16,000 races.
In total, including non-winning rides there have been eight disqualifications from around 150,000 rides.
Disqualification as a sanction for whip offences is in place in several international jurisdictions, including in the US and France, where a winning ride in a Group 1 Arabian race was disqualified as recently as Friday 4 October.
Taking the decision away from raceday
Following the publication of the initial recommendations of the Whip Consultation Steering Group, a further period of consultation and technical discussions was held with a range of audiences, including participants, customers, bookmakers, racing broadcasters and beyond.
A clear recommendation emerged from this process that the decision should be taken away from raceday. This view was especially strong from the betting industry (with the perspective of their customers very much in mind), as well as racing broadcasters.
Managing the situation away from raceday allows for these decisions – which are of critical importance – to be made by the WRC, which ensures consistency of process and decision-making, which was a core theme of the whip review.
This also allows for checks and balances to be in place in relation to the referrals, for example in relation to what counts as a usage of the whip, whether a whip use has definitely made contact, or whether it was used unequivocally for safety reasons.
This has proven essential on more than one occasion since the new rules were introduced as rides have been referred carrying a potential disqualification, but the WRC, when applying its consistent methodology, found that one or more uses of the whip should be discounted and therefore the rider not disqualified.
In addition, there are procedural and logistical issues associated with clearing results of races on raceday if disqualification is a potential factor.
Data
More information about the whip, including recently updated figures around offence rates, can be found at: The whip | British Horseracing Authority.
Notes
The full findings of the Whip Review Committee from their meeting on 15 October 2024 can be found here.
