Australian jockeys stage protest over whip use

Australian jockeys staged a mass nationwide walkout yesterday 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.



However 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.