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ARB RECEIVES PROGRESS REPORT ON WHIP CHANGES
The Australian Racing Board has today received a full briefing on progress in implementing the sweeping changes to the rules that have been made governing use of the whip. These changes were decided on after lengthy consultation both within the industry and with the public and will come into effect on 1st August, 2009.
The Board received advice from the Chairman of the National Stewards Group, Ray Murrihy, as well as hearing from the Chairman of the Australian Jockeys Association, Ross Inglis, CEO of the AJA, Paul Innes, and General Manager of the AJA, Des O’Keeffe.
Significant outcomes from today’s meeting:
The Australian Racing Board viewed an educational DVD that has been produced by the National Stewards Group.
“Education is our first priority in implementing these changes and the Board’s Directors have viewed the educational DVD that has been produced demonstrating acceptable and non-acceptable whip actions. This is proving to be a highly useful aid to the series of seminars that are being conducted by each Principal Racing Authority to explain the changes to riders at first-hand. The educational DVD is also being distributed to trainers and owner groups as well as the media as part of the work that is being done to achieve adjustment right across the industry.” - RG Bentley, ARB Chairman
- Changes to Rules of Racing relating to Riding Skills Panels
The Rules of Racing were added to in 2006 to provide for the appointment of Apprentice Riding Skills Panels. The Panels are made up of training officers and former riders such as Ron Quinton and Malcolm Johnston and provide remedial training for apprentice jockeys. The concept has worked extremely well and today the Australian Racing Board has amended the Rules of Racing to widen the remit of these panels so that they can provide assistance to all jockeys who may need professional help in amending their riding styles to conform with the new rules.
“The Apprentice Riding Skills Panels have proved to be very effective. Penalties for breaches of the rules act as deterrents to repeat offenders but sometimes the issue can be more a matter of the rider’s technique needing correcting. The Board has widened the remit of these panels so that they can provide remedial to all jockeys who need help with their technique, including how they use the whip.” - RG Bentley
The amendments to the Rules of Racing made by the ARB come into effect on 1st August, 2009 and the Australian Racing Board has congratulated the National Stewards Group on the work it has done towards identifying an appropriate range of penalties for breaches of the new rules, The National Stewards Group has consulted extensively with the AJA and today tabled a set of penalty guidelines which have been developed having regard to the following principles:
- Deterrence. Education and adjustment are the current priorities. However, once these phases of implementation have been completed, compliance with the new requirements must be supported by a suitable set of deterrents.
- Consistency. A fundamental principle of the sentencing process is that like cases should be treated in a like, or consistent, manner. The application of the Rules of Racing works as a system, not a multiplicity of unconnected single instances. It must be systematically fair, and that involves, amongst other things, reasonable consistency.
- State/Territory differences. Consistency, or treating like case alike, does not mean treating them identically. Broad equality can be achieved while recognizing certain inherent inter-jurisdictional differences. For example: different jurisdictions have different racing schedules, with the Northern Territory generally racing once weekly as against the daily schedule in Victoria, NSW and Queensland which also conduct night meetings, and with some States also having different penalty structures for riding offences occurring at city meetings as against those occurring at regional meetings.
- Transparency. Consistency, as well as public confidence, will be enhanced by the identification of the range of factors that the Stewards will take into account in determining penalties.
- Individualised justice. Each penalty imposed must be one that is appropriate in all of the circumstances of the particular case.
The Australian Racing Board today resolved to adopt as a policy the guidelines developed by the National Stewards with the clear provision that penalties imposed in each particular case remain at the discretion of the Stewards. Each Principal Racing Authority will now request to endorse these guidelines.
- Forfeiture of raiding fees and prizemoney percentages
The Australian Racing Board has today amended AR196 to expressly provide that the Stewards may in respect of a breach of AR137A order the forfeiture of the riding fee and/or forfeiture of all or part of the rider’s percentage of prizemoney notwithstanding that the amount exceeds $75,000.
End Media Release.
For further inquires:
Mr Andrew Harding
Chief Executive
Office: 02 9551 7700
Mobile: 0417 043 233
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