The Hong Kong Jockey Club has announced it will carry out a review of its whip rules as senior officials continue to monitor and assess the shifting landscape across other major racing jurisdictions.
Currently, Hong Kong operates under a discretionary model for whip use, meaning stewards have the authority to penalise jockeys if they deem the whip to have been used in an “excessive, improper, unnecessary or inappropriate” manner. Unlike other leading racing jurisdictions, there are no official restrictions on how many times the whip can be used.
But this long-standing policy could soon change, as the Club’s executive director of racing, Andrew Harding, confirmed that talks are underway with key stakeholders, beginning with a meeting with jockeys on Tuesday.
“We continue to look at various areas of regulation and one of them is the use of the whip,” Harding said. “We have been doing that for some time with jockeys and trainers.
“We will be speaking to the jockeys on Tuesday as part of our ongoing monitoring of our rules in that area. After we have spoken to jockeys, trainers and owners, we will make an assessment as to whether or not there will be changes.”
The whip review comes five months after it was announced that all 12 of Hong Kong’s Group 1 races would be incorporated into the World Pool schedule, which aims to promote the world’s best races.
But unlike all of the other eight countries to host World Pool events, Hong Kong is the only jurisdiction which doesn’t stipulate how many times the whip can be used in their rules of racing.
Harding was keen to stress that while no decisions have yet been made, he acknowledged the growing international momentum towards tightening whip protocols and said the Club is closely observing developments abroad.
“Obviously there have been changes to the way the whip has been regulated in other major racing jurisdictions over time,” he said. “We have continued to monitor those changes and how they have worked.
“We will continue to do that, but we will have a conversation with the jockeys and see if there is a case for making changes here and if we did make changes, what would be a sensible approach?”
He also suggested there is scope for a measured approach to the use of the whip in Hong Kong but stated any regulatory changes would follow consultation with all key participants before coming into play for the 2025-26 season, which begins in September.
“Overall, I think there is a case for reducing the use of the whip,” Harding said. “If anything changes it would be for the start of next season, not immediate.” ∎
