Elsevier

Journal of Veterinary Behavior

Volume 8, Issue 2, March–April 2013, Pages 100-105
Journal of Veterinary Behavior

Short communication
A pilot investigation into the opinions and beliefs of Australian, British, and Irish jockeys

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jveb.2012.04.004Get rights and content

Abstract

Despite its likely role in the treatment of racehorses and their likelihood of being whipped when tired, the opinions and beliefs of jockeys surrounding whip use have not been explored under a scientific framework. We administered a questionnaire directly to jockeys in Australia (n = 806), Ireland (n = 178), and the United Kingdom (n = 265). This questionnaire included questions such as whether jockeys saw whip use as essential to get the best possible finishing position and to promote racing performance and, if so, how they had arrived at that view. There were also questions related to information on horses’ responses to the whip and the most common causes of horses’ failing to respond favorably to the whip. Other questions included were whether jockeys feel under pressure to whip more than they would really like to and, if so, the main source of that pressure. It also enquired about jockeys’ opinions on the current Rules of Racing for their home country and on racing in other countries where the rules about whip use differ from their own. Finally, it explored how jockeys perceive the ways in which dogs, horses, and humans feel noxious stimuli. There was evidence that, despite being invited to contribute to the design of the survey, the Australian Jockeys’ Association had advised their membership not to participate. The low numbers of respondents (n = 24) mean that we cannot claim that the sample is in any way representative of jockeys at large. That said, the current data are offered as some triggers for further research. For example, there was no disagreement with the suggestion that whip use is essential to get the best possible finishing position, but one-third of respondents also acknowledged that some horses move sideways dangerously in response to whip use. How these 2 apparently contradictory perspectives can sit together merits further investigation.

Introduction

The use of whips by jockeys is an issue. Various regulations seek to govern the use of the whip in racing. For example, the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) and the Australian Racing Board (ARB) provide detailed instructions on the use of the whip in racing (British Horseracing Authority, 2009; Australian Racing Board, 2011). In a bid to ensure that the whip is used for “safety, correction and encouragement only,” both the BHA and ARB have described ways in which the whip may be used and/or should not be used according to their rules. Recently, racing authorities have produced reviews of the rules surrounding whip use in the United Kingdom (British Horseracing Authority, 2011) and Australia (Australian Racing Board, 2009). In both countries, jockeys resisted changes in the rules, citing concerns regarding the complexities of the new rules and the potential of moderated whip use to compromise their safety.

Recent analysis of high-speed footage from Australian races has called into question the ability of stewards to effectively police the rules concerning whip use and, perhaps more importantly, refuted the suggestion that padding the distal section of the whip safeguards horses from possible pain (McGreevy et al., 2012). In this study, observers working independently agreed that the whip caused a visible indentation on 83% of impacts and the unpadded section of the whip made contact on 64% of impacts. There is also recent evidence that, in races of 1200 and 1250 m, horses generally achieve their highest speeds in the 600- to 400-m section (from the finish), wherein whipping did not occur. By contrast, whip use in these races was most frequent in the final 2 200-m sections, when horses were slowing presumably from fatigue (Evans and McGreevy, 2011). These data showed that increased whip use was not associated with significant variation in velocity as a predictor of superior placing at the finish (Evans and McGreevy, 2011). Further analysis of the same data set revealed that horses were more likely to be whipped in the penultimate 200-m section of races if ridden by apprentice rather than nonapprentice jockeys, suggesting that the whip is a poorly understood tool (McGreevy and Ralston, 2012). Horses were also more likely to be whipped in the penultimate 200-m section of races if drawn closer to the rail (McGreevy and Ralston, 2012). This finding is surprising; given that horses further from the rail run slower race times (Martin et al., 1996), one would expect them to require more whipping (if, indeed, whipping helps) to keep them closer to the inside of the bend. In a similar vein, the putative role of the whip in steering racehorses has been brought into doubt, in New South Wales at least, by data showing that handedness of riders, rather than direction of racing, seems to be the primary driver as to which hand jockeys use to carry the whip (McGreevy and Oddie, 2011). This refutes some of the arguments mounted for continued use of the whip (British Horseracing Authority, 2011). Although considered to be a small player on the international racing scene, Norway has had whip-free racing since 1982, and there is no evidence of poor quality racing or compromised horse or jockey safety (Hans Petter Eriksen, personal communication, 2011). All this evidence makes it increasingly difficult to justify the whipping of tired horses in the name of sport.

In the Evans and McGreevy (2011) study, horses with superior race positions at 400 and 200 m were whipped more frequently, and the whipping in the final 2 200-m sections had no significant effect on velocity that explained likelihood of racing success. In the absence of any data on the jockeys’ beliefs or their trainers’ instructions regarding tactics for these races, the authors posited that their data might reflect jockeys’ belief that success in a 1200-1250-m race is more likely by achieving a superior relative position at the 400- and 200-m positions, followed by more frequent whip use. Media comments have suggested that jockeys may feel under pressure from a horse’s trainer or connections to perform with the whip (Smith, 2011). Therefore, the thoughts of jockeys and their responses to these considerations are of interest in this domain.

We were interested in characterizing jockeys’ opinions and beliefs concerning several issues, including use of the whip in horses drawn further from the inside rail, and in horses during the final 400 m of races. We designed a questionnaire to determine jockeys’ views on the Rules of Racing as they apply to whip use. It was also designed to explore jockeys’ beliefs around the capacity for sensation or feelings of horses (in comparison with humans and companion animals, specifically dogs).

Section snippets

Materials and methods

We sourced mobile phone numbers and e-mail addresses from the racing industry publications from the United Kingdom and Ireland (The Directory of the Turf, 2011) and Australia [Racing NSW Magazine (New South Wales [NSW]), The Races (South Australia [SA]), Racing Ahead (Western Australia [WA]), Racing Queensland Magazine (Queensland [QLD]), and Inside Racing (Victoria)]. Numbers were acquired for Ireland (n = 178), UK professional jockeys (n = 148) and UK amateur jockeys (n = 117), and for

Results

Responses were obtained from 26 subjects. Twenty were received from Australian jockeys. Two were discarded because they were from a racing executive who wished to demonstrate that fallacious responses could be lodged in online surveys, but then alerted the researchers to the spurious data.

Four were from the United Kingdom (3 professionals and 1 amateur), and 2 were from Ireland. The average age of all jockeys was 33 years (±8.39), and the average time in race riding was 10.86 years (±9.13).

Discussion

We acknowledge that the response rate is disappointingly low. Nevertheless, we believe it is important to offer this report because it may help to avoid the potential waste of future researchers’ effort. The Australian Jockeys Association (AJA), a professional body, confirmed that it had advised its members not to respond to our survey. This is disappointing because months before the launch of the survey, the research team gave the AJA an opportunity to assist in drafting the questionnaire and

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