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Originally Posted by CSC
I'm sorry your friend had to pay out of their own pockets for the expenses incurred by the grooms, unfortunately the actions of the ARB affected all that were involved this day, from what I understand they forced the issue of limited stick work on horses and penalyzed a very respected Jockey in Corey Brown in the process. My take is from a bettor's perspective, if a Jockey is prevented from trying their best by being hampered by the rules, the optics can cannot look good for the integrity of racing, in a game that depends alot on perception that there is no cheating and everyone is trying their best this rule would not have been positive, the whip rules had to be addressed. I agree things could have been handled better not only by the Jockies but all parties concerned.
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I understand whole heartedly about the matter of the rules, and yes if a jockey is denied the chance of winning a Gr1 because of new whip rules it must be very frustrating, but throughout Europe we have even stricter rules than the ones set to be put in place over here in Australia and there never appears to be an issue. The jocks know they can only 'smack' a horse a set number of times in the final stages and they have to wait until a horse responds before using the stick again.
I just think there are many jockeys who rely far too much on the whips and in my opinion, if they have to do that, then they cannot be considered as good jockeys. Anyone can get on a horse and batter it to an inch of it's life to make it run faster, but not many have the ability to nurse horses along to keep them going and ultimately keep them racing for longer - and surely that is what the sport is about.