KY Riding Crop Rule Modified to Emphasize Suspensions

The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission's Rules Committee passed a motion Sept. 29 that will modify the riding crop regulation it passed in June to emphasize suspensions for jockeys committing offenses rather than monetary penalties.

The June regulation, which has yet to be implemented at Kentucky tracks, will restrict riders from using the crop more than six times during a race after the opening furlong, and only twice in succession before allowing a horse the chance to respond. The restriction does not apply in instances in which stewards view the crop as being used to avoid a potentially dangerous situation for horse or rider.

Jennifer Wolsing, general counsel of the KHRC, said the penalty modification proposal came after discussions with the Jockeys' Guild. The Guild's membership has opposed sharp riding crop reductions that have been pitched in some jurisdictions over the past couple of years, saying such rules endanger riders' safety.

Prior to Tuesday's passed motion, the language of the original rule was such that jockeys committing riding crop violations could be issued contrasting financial penalties, even if committing the infractions in the same race.

As a hypothetical example, one the Jockeys' Guild originally raised to the commission, Wolsing presented the case of two riders striking their mounts above the six-strike threshold in the $3 million Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford  Reserve (G1) and then issued fines reflecting 30% of their earnings.

"In that hypothetical example the winning jockey would lose 30% of his earnings or approximately $56,000," Wolsing said. "The losing jockey would also lose 30% of his losing out fee, but that only amounts to $150. And that would be a penalty ratio of 372-to-1 for the exact same conduct in precisely the same race.

"When that sort of scenario was proposed to KHRC staff, we started thinking about shifting the penalties from dollars to days. Specifically, misuse of the crop should lead to suspensions rather than fines."

Wolsing indicated penalties could range from a verbal warning for a first offense before growing to a suspension of 1-3 days for a second occurrence. Ultimately, the sixth offense or more could lead to up to a one-year suspension at the stewards' discretion. An egregious violation that shows a flagrant disregard for the rules could also result in a one-year suspension.

No riders spoke during the committee meeting. Committee members all voiced agreement that shifting from fines to suspensions appeared sound, provided frivolous appeals could be avoided and that suspensions could not be pushed to convenient times or to a race meet with smaller purses.

Chair Mark Simendinger also sought to avoid delay in the rule's implementation.

The riding crop regulation will now advance to the commission's Safety and Welfare Committee and to the full commission, said Marc Guilfoil, executive director of the KHRC.