Jockeys to meet horse racing bosses over whip dispute

Soumillon (left) lost the biggest pot won by a jockey riding in the UK

Jockeys are to meet racing's rulers on Monday in an effort to resolve the whip dispute which nearly led to a strike.

Professional Jockeys' Association (PJA) chief executive Kevin Darley will hold talks with British Horseracing Authority (BHA) officials.

Tough whip rules have angered jockeys, who had threatened to strike on Monday.

"I'm sure we will be able to come to some sort of amicable agreement and protect the integrity of the sport at the same time," Darley told BBC Sport.

The new guidelines mean the air-cushioned whip can only be used a maximum of seven times in a Flat race and eight times over the jumps - roughly half the previous limit.

Analysis

Cornelius LysaghtBBC horse racing correspondent

This is patently a crisis and racing's regulator, the BHA, must rue bringing in new whip rules in this of all weeks. It is clearly unjust that a jockey is fined about £50,000 for a relatively minor slip. No-one, for a second, is saying Christophe Soumillon abused his mount. His penalty makes the meeting between racing's regulator and the jockeys all the more important on Monday. Previous penalties were probably not tough enough but they are now draconian. The difficulty appears to be the level of punishment, rather than number of times the whip is used. It is hard not to sympathise with Soumillon riding his horse over 40mph and having to see where the furlong marker is.

Jockeys broadly accepted the introduction of stricter rules but many are unhappy with the stipulation that the whip can only be used five times in the final furlong, or after the last jump, plus severe penalties which include losing prize money.

Richard Hughes relinquished his licence on Thursday after a second whip ban in the space of four days and said he would not ride again until the regulations were reviewed.

On Saturday, Belgian jockey Christophe Soumillon was given a five-day ban and stripped of about £50,000 in prize money after he used his whip once too often when winning Britain's richest race, the Champion Stakes at Ascot.

Soumillon told BBC Radio 5 live's Sportsweek he would support a strike by British jockeys.

He said: "If I was a British jockey I would be on the side of Richard Hughes and probably not ride any races because the rules have to be clearly made and not like they are today.

"So I will be on the side for all the jockeys."

Meanwhile, legendary former champion jockey Lester Piggott said the new regulations needed time to bed in.

"If they were going to do it properly they should have had a two-week period where they could get into it and it would have been better that way," he told BBC Sport.

"I don't know what it's coming to. I think the penalties have been overdone.

NEW WHIP RULES

• Maximum seven strokes in Flat races and eight over jumps
• Only five times after last obstacle or in final furlong
• Riding fees and prize money forfeited when whip ban of three days or more
• BHA to review licences of repeat offenders

"All the good jockeys adapt but right now it is tough. It all needs to simmer down a bit."

The PJA has made written submissions to the BHA, although Darley declined to say exactly what jockeys have proposed.

He added: "They have all tried their best to comply with the rules. Most of the jockeys have been suspended for what you might call minor offences - they have gone one or two [strokes] over.

"It's very difficult for them to change their mindset. They are being asked to change the way they ride overnight.

"It may sound very simple to the public that they've only got to count to seven, or count to five, but they are in a competitive mode. They are in a race with a lot going on around them.

"For instance, in a five-furlong race they are travelling 20 yards a second. Imagine that in a race like the Stewards' Cup where there might be 25 horses around you and you're having to look for the furlong pole. It's difficult, it's not as easy as people say."