Harness whip rules

[Messenger]

I don't know about the future of athletics but going by the way the events at Stawell were full of very young people on the weekend (under 21yo's I'm talking) plus how they have incorporated Little Athletics into the program - They have been REALLY SMART

We don't seem to notice people belting horses anymore And the fact that young people find it unacceptable

Have a look at the Heats of the Mildura Cup tonight. Young Abby Sanderson wins heat 1 and uses the whip in a barely noticeable way - the way the new regulations were written
Have a look at heat 2 to have a look at how noticeable the drivers are using their whole arm and belting their horses

The Abby way could be the norm in just a couple of weeks - massive fines and loss of races would see drivers change their style virtually overnight BUT we do not get it!
Just another way that we are failing
If you do not think social license is a thing, just remember that the USA do not have greyhound racing anymore

https://www.harness.org.au/racing/fi...24#MLC02042401

[Jasper]

Couldn’t agree more re Abby Sanderson style. I would also like to see a few whip free races as an experiment because for harness racing to survive this is the future.

Has this ever been tried?

[Messenger]

The drivers will not go along with it. It was even suggested that they could carry a whip 'as a control tool' but 'not to be used in the race' however as far as I know - it has never been trialed

[Jasper]

How many times have you seen a whip used for control in a race? The whips major purpose is to encourage the horse to go/not stop. Maybe in a prelim with a young horse, on rare occasions, where a horse gets tapped to move forward etc a whip is useful. The $$ at the end of the whip is the real reason the drivers prefer to use the whip in my opinion but used the control issue as leverage.

But at the end of the day, as you mentioned, it gets back to the social license issue and you have to wonder how long the community can accept animals being beaten for entertainment/financial gain.

[Messenger]

Yes Daniel, you are neatly stating what 99% of us know but probably only 50% (at best) of participants seem to agree with.

[gutwagon]

I've said it before, I think whip free racing should be phased in gradually . Start with next seasons 2yo's then the following season it's 2 and 3yo's then after that no whips to be used to make hoses go faster. Let them have it for control. You know if this board brings it in it will be a snap decision with zero consultation as is their way !