ARCADIA, Calif. – The California Horse Racing Board voted on Thursday to ban jockeys from using whips to urge their mounts, the first stage of a process that will take several months and fundamentally change the way races are ridden. The rule will limit riders to using whips “when necessary to control the horse for the safety of the horse or rider.” The current rule allowing jockeys to use the whip three times in succession before pausing to give a horse a chance to respond will be eliminated. The rule change was approved unanimously, by a vote of 5-0, and will be subject to a 45-day public comment period before the board votes on the matter again. It is possible that the language of the rule could be changed in coming months, pending public comments, which could further delay implementation. Once approved by the board for the final time, the rule is subject to a review by the state’s office of administrative law before going into effect, possibly in the second half of the year. The new whip rule is part of the aftermath of 22 equine fatalities at Santa Anita since late December and one of several rule changes the board approved Thursday at the request of The Stronach Group, the parent company of Santa Anita and Golden Gate Fields in Northern California. The racing board approved rules that will suspend the use of 11 medications and will reduce the permitted race-day dosage of Lasix in half, to 5cc, for the current Golden Gate Fields meeting through June 9 and the current Santa Anita meeting through June 23. The 11 medications suspended at California tracks owned by The Stronach Group are phenylbutazone, flunixin, ketoprofen, bethamesasone, dexamethasone, diclofenac, firocoxib, methylprednisone, prednisolone, triamcinolone, and isoflupredone. Phenylbutazone is a common anti-inflammatory known as bute. The suspension of those medications goes into effect Friday. Veterinarians and trainers were notified earlier this month of the Stronach Group’s intention to suspend the medications pending the racing board’s vote, according to racing board executive director Rick Baedeker. A proposal to suspend the use of 11 medications at other tracks in the state was postponed until the racing board’s April meeting. Santa Anita resumes racing on Friday for the first time since March 3. In recent weeks, following most of the equine fatalities, the main track was inspected and renovated. Other measures, such as stricter controls on which horses are allowed to work or be entered for races, were put in place by Santa Anita management. The Stronach Group announced earlier this month a house rule would be enacted restricting jockeys to using their whips at Santa Anita and Golden Gate Fields only “as a corrective safety measure,” which would differ from rules at other tracks not owned by the company or the state’s existing rule. Earlier this week, track officials and members of the Jockeys' Guild held discussions about allowing riders to limit use of the whip to a downward, or back-handed motion, but eventually opted not to make changes from the existing rules. “It was hard to find a middle ground,” Tim Ritvo, the chief operating officer of The Stronach Group, said after Thursday’s meeting of the discussions with the Jockeys' Guild. He also said it would have been difficult to penalize riders for violating a house rule but being in compliance with existing state rules. “Adjudicating it would have been a problem,” he said. The racing board’s new rule would penalize a rider for using the whip in a manner commonplace for centuries. In part, the rule approved on Thursday states, “if a jockey rides in a manner contrary to the rule, the jockey may be suspended or fined by the stewards. The jockey share of the purse shall be forfeited, if, in the opinion of the stewards, the unauthorized use of the crop caused it to achieve a better placing.” There is no language in the new rule that would disqualify a horse from purse earnings or pari-mutuel payouts if a jockey is found to be in violation. The new whip rule was the dominant subject of the three-hour meeting. At the beginning of the discussion, officials with the Jockey’s Guild asked for a delay in a vote. "We want to make sure perception is taken care of and we want to be fair to the owners, the track, the betting public, and come to a fair conclusion,” said Jockeys' Guild chief executive Terry Meyocks. The comments of Jockeys' Guild officials drew a sharp rebuke from racing board vice-chair Madeline Auerbach. “If we ignore the view of the people of this state, we will pay a very big price,” Auerbach said. “What happens here will eventually happen elsewhere. “We care about our horses and we’re not going to allow any perception that we don’t treat them in the most careful and loving fashion.” Racing board chairman Chuck Winner said there has been political pressure to end use of the whip following the recent deaths. He emphasized that the broader public is closely scrutinizing racing. “We have an obligation to the elected officials of this state,” he said. “We are appointees. I can assure there is a very strong feeling about this issue.” Winner said educating the general public, and not just racing fans, on the use of the whip is impossible in a state as vast as California. “It’s the people outside the cocoon that count here,” he said. “It just looks bad.” Racing board commissioner Alex Solis, a retired jockey, said change is inevitable. Solis voted for the new rule. “I feel for my peers,” he said before the vote was taken. “[This is a] critical time for horse racing in California. We’re talking about the future of California racing and we have to compromise.” Belinda Stronach, whose family owns and operates The Stronach Group, said the new whip rule would eventually be implemented at the company’s other tracks in Florida and Maryland. “We want to get it right in California first,” she said. Earlier this month, Stronach said she was part of a group of track officials who traveled to Sacramento to speak with state officials about the changes implemented. “We went to Sacramento to meet with legislators,” she said. “We met with the attorney general and staff of the governor’s office. “We’re in this for the long haul and we’re committed to working together with all the stakeholders and have the best racing in the world. Change can be scary. I get it and I respect the various comments.” Ritvo told the racing board that Santa Anita is considering other safety measures, including not racing on a sealed track after a rain storm – a departure from another long-standing tradition in the sport of racing despite inclement weather. “We could treat it like snow days in the Northeast,” he said. “We could take a day off.” He said proposals will be considered to limiting training in the days after a track is sealed and limiting the number of races held daily. Through March 3, Santa Anita had run 369 races since opening day of the meeting on Dec. 26, 19 more than a similar period in 2017-18. “Are we running too many races?” Ritvo said. “Those things will be looked at hard. We’ll rethink those and see how we can become better.”