News

Frustrated Brown leads chorus of calls for changes to new rules

9th Sep 2009

The Daily Telegraph - Ray Thomas and Brent Zerafa - Wednesday, 9 September 2009

JOCKEY Corey Brown, who tomorrow will present a case to the Australian Racing Board to amend the contentious whip rules, has been hit with another fine and suspension for excessive use of the whip.

Only days after learning he would miss 13 meetings, including several key dates leading into the feature spring races, Brown had to front stewards at Warwick Farm yesterday to explain his ride aboard Ivory Pegasus in the Mona Lisa Stakes at Wyong last Friday.

A video review panel, which has been established to sift through the various races and look for whip breaches, found him guilty of striking Ivory Pegasus on six consecutive strides inside the final 200m - three more than is allowed.

Brown pleaded guilty to the charge, his fourth since the rules were introduced on August 1, and was given a further two-meeting suspension, forcing him out of the saddle from September 13 to October 1.

He had already been suspended for the same offence when riding runner-up Lodge The Deeds in the Wyong Cup the same day.

"It is frustrating because once again it was a head-and-head finish and all I was trying to do was get the best out of the horse," Brown said.

"I'm over it and sick and tired of talking about it. All the boys (jockeys) feel the same, too.

"We need to get this sorted out, it is not good enough."

Brown and Melbourne's leading jockey Damien Oliver, along with former federal agriculture minister Peter McGauran, are due to make representations to the ARB tomorrow urging some urgent amendments be made to the new whip rules.

They plan to ask the ARB to consider amending the rules so that jockeys can use their discretion in the final 100m of a race.

A jockey is now restricted by the number of times he can choose to use the whip over the final 200m.

The rule, introduced by the ARB on August 1, allows a jockey to hit a horse only three times in a row inside the final 200m, and not in consecutive strides.

The contentious whip rule has even attracted debate among politicians, with state MP Paul Gibson yesterday calling for a moratorium over the new rules.

Gibson even went so far as to declare the NSW racing industry at "a crisis point" over the issue.

"Total confusion is the response from all sectors of the racing industry," Gibson said.

"Jockeys don't know how to ride their mounts out, trainers don't know what to tell the jockeys, punters don't know what jockeys to back because they don't know which ones may or may not use the whip in order to make sure that their mount wins.

"Bookmakers are in the same quandary about knowing what horse to lay and what horse to take on.

"A hundred years of racing is in chaos because of this new rule."