Long-term use of the whip is unsustainable says Racing Victoria chief

Racing Victoria CEO Giles Thompson has said he believes the use of whips in races is unsustainable in the long term.

Thompson's comments on RSN927's Racing Pulse on Wednesday morning came as Racing Victoria deals with horse welfare issues and the perceptions of the public following the ABC's exposé two weeks ago.

Six-time Melbourne Cup-winning owner Lloyd Williams last week suggested whips should be banned from racing and Thompson acknowledged his point.

Thompson said: "Obviously the last couple of weeks have been unusual after the report. The debate over banning the whip has been around for a long time and will continue until the whip is banned.

"I don't see the whip being sustainable in the long term. The question for us in racing is how we make that inevitable transition and when we make it. Lloyd's point I think is right, there is a need to look at it."

Lloyd Williams (centre): last week called for the whip to be bannedCredit: Racing Photos

Australia's current whip rules allow jockeys to use the whip five times before the 100-metre mark, with unlimited use for the remainder of the race.

Thompson said: "Like everything in racing, change is quite difficult because there's such a broad range of stakeholders with so many different angles on a particular issue. Sometimes it takes a bold decision, sometimes it takes consultation and negotiation.

"The bold decision about the A$25 million [£13.29m/€15.37m] investment in equine welfare earlier this week and how we're going to double the takeout from the prize-money, that wasn't done with a lot of consultation.

"We're capable of making bold decisions when we need to but it will remain a hot topic for a while yet."

Racing Victoria has issued four new charges against Jarrod McLean, former assistant to Darren Weir. They include the alleged administering of human erythropoietin and conduct prejudicial to the integrity of the sport with the charges to be heard by the Victorian Racing Tribunal at a date to be confirmed.

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