LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission on Tuesday unanimously approved rules that would limit the use of the whip at racetracks in the state, potentially setting the stage for similar rules to be adopted in other jurisdictions. The new rules would limit riders to six uses of the whip after the first furlong is run, with no more than two strikes in succession without giving the horse an opportunity to respond. The rules also would allow riders to use the whip “to avoid a dangerous situation that may harm another rider or horse,” with stewards being given the discretion to determine whether the jockeys’ use of the whip in those instances was justified. According to Jennifer Wolsing, general counsel for the KHRC, the rules are not likely to be “promulgated and enforceable” until late in 2020 or even the spring of 2021, due to public-comment periods and multiple stages of legislative review necessary for new racing commission regulations. That would mean that the 2020 Breeders’ Cup, scheduled for Nov. 6-7 at Keeneland in Lexington, would take place under the current rules, which do not have numerical limits on the number of times a horse can be struck but do have some rules limiting the manner in which a whip can be used. The rules were proposed and passed in less than 30 hours, with the endorsement of both the Thoroughbred Safety Coalition, a group of racetracks and racing organizations that banded together last year to push for changes to racing rules, and The Jockeys’ Guild, which represents riders and exercise riders nationally. An initial submission of the rules by the TSC in front of two committees of the KHRC was debated for two hours Monday, until officials of the TSC and guild reached an informal agreement that satisfied both sides. It was that consensus on the Kentucky rules that has some racing industry officials optimistic that the regulations could be adopted swiftly in other states, at a time when racing industry practices remain in the crosshairs of many animal-rights and animal-welfare organizations, which share a critical view of the use of the whip on racehorses. “Our ultimate goal is to get to that place where we have uniform rules on the crop in all jurisdictions,” said Mindy Coleman, legal counsel for the guild, after the meeting Monday. “So we’re appreciative that there was discussion and dialogue.” The TSC, which includes as its founding members some of the most influential racing organizations in the sport, was formed last year in the wake of months of intense criticism of the racing industry sparked by a spate of breakdowns in Southern California in early 2019. At its launch, the coalition identified more than a dozen targets for reform, including the use of the crop, and its push to get the rules passed quickly in Kentucky is considered a launching point for a similar effort in other major racing states. The KHRC adopted the rules Tuesday with little discussion of the changes, on a unanimous voice vote conducted via teleconference due to the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. :: Want to get your Past Performances for free? Click to learn more. “I feel like there was some pretty decent give and take there, which is what is required to get an agreement,” said Mark Simendinger, who led part of the discussion Monday as the chair of one of the KHRC committees that approved the rules for consideration by the full KHRC. “We were closer to the middle than when we started, I’ll tell you that, and that takes cooperation from both sides. I think it’s a step forward for Kentucky racing.” The KHRC approved the rules five days after the California Horse Racing Board adopted the most stringent whip-use regulations in the United States. Those regulations will limit a jockey to six uses of the whip during a race, all under-handed, and all while holding the reins or touching the neck of the horse. The Jockeys’ Guild opposed the adoption of that rule and later issued a statement saying the regulations were “unsafe” and that the rules “would jeopardize the integrity of the sport.” Coleman said that the Kentucky rules differed significantly from the California rules because of the greater latitude that riders will be given in Kentucky. While the California rules limit all six uses to under-handed strikes, the rules in Kentucky allow jockeys to use different motions, provided the rider does not lift their wrist above the helmet. Under the rules, jockeys also will be able to use the whip for the first eighth-mile of a race in order to establish control of their mounts during what is typically the roughest part of a race, with none of those uses counting against the six uses during the remainder of the race. Jockeys also will be able to tap the horse’s shoulder or neck as long as both hands are on the reins. Violations of the rules will draw fines and suspensions, with the severity of the punishments progressively increasing with the amount of strikes that a rider uses over and above the maximum. Under the rules, horses would not face disqualifications for violations of the rules, but under the most severe penalties, a jockey could lose the entirety of the rider’s share of the purse. In other actions at the KHRC meeting: * The KHRC unanimously approved changes to its “fiduciary responsibility” rules that will allow the commission to use “any judgment related to the business of horse racing” as criteria for denying a license to an individual. The commission made the changes after a court ruled that the KHRC could not deny a license to owner Jerry Jamgotchian based on a court-mandated judgment regarding a debt to a Kentucky breeding farm, because the breeding farm was not regulated by the commission. * Dr. Bruce Howard, the equine medical director for the KHRC, told commissioners that there have been “no incidences of epistaxis,” a term used to refer to visible blood from a horse’s nostrils due to bleeding in the lungs, for the 107 starters that have raced in 2-year-old races this year at Churchill Downs in which administrations of the anti-bleeding drug furosemide have been prohibited within 24 hours of the race. Churchill has held 11 of the races so far. The Kentucky Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association had filed a lawsuit against Churchill, the KHRC, and Keeneland to prevent tracks from writing races prohibiting raceday administrations of furosemide, but a judge threw out the lawsuit two weeks ago. * The KHRC approved a minor date change on the Kentucky summer calendar that will allow Churchill Downs to run one additional race date at the end of its meet, on June 28, and allow Ellis Park to push back its opening date to July 2. * Frank Kling, vice chairman of the KHRC, told commissioners that since several casinos in Kentucky opened last week with only one-third of their gambling devices available in order to comply with social-distancing guidelines, “They’re hitting the same numbers as when they shut down.” The devices, known as historical horse racing machines, provide subsidies to racing purses in the state. Kling noted that casinos in Indiana and Missouri are slated to open this week, which will increase competition for some of the sites in the future.