Poll reveals strong public opposition to the use of the whip in racing

The results show:

• 68% of respondents either oppose (30%) or strongly oppose (38%) the use of the whip in racing
• When excluding those who did not express an opinion on the issue, those who oppose or strongly oppose the use of the whip in racing rose to 83%
• Just 14% of respondents either support (12%) or strongly support (2%) the use of the whip

Not only are jockeys allowed to hit their horses seven times in a flat race and eight times in a jumps race, but in 2017, there were 524 incidents where jockeys broke the whip rules – usually for whipping their horses more times than permitted.

The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) is supposed to be responsible for the welfare of race horses. But, we believe its inability to deter jockeys from hitting their horses excessively or to prevent the high number of race horse deaths means it is failing to protect horses.