Japan’s top jockeys Yutaka Take and Christophe Lemaire addressed the subjects of jockey safety and welfare, and the effects of the whip rules for riders when they shared the stage during the 40th Asian Racing Conference (ARC) in Sapporo.
“We have lost too many jockeys in Japan this year,” Take said solemnly. “The safety of jockeys must be a priority. Having no accidents is best.”
He added that jockeys have to deal with “pressure, danger, and stress.”
In April the JRA (Japan Racing Association) jockey Kota Fujioka, 35, died as a result of injuries sustained in a race fall, the first JRA jockey death connected to a racing incident since 2004; fellow JRA rider Taiga Tsunoda, 21, died in August at the time he was serving a suspension for ‘serious misconduct’ related to driving his car on the track at Hakodate Racecourse; and NAR (National Association of Racing) jockey Yudai Tsukamoto, 25, died from a race fall at Kochi on March 24.
Lemaire noted the important developments in recent decades to improve jockey safety and welfare and the need for those improvements to be ongoing.
“We have to enjoy the improvements that have happened in the last 20 years when it comes to the safety of jockeys and horses; I think there are a lot of passionate people who are working backstage to improve that and we have to acknowledge this work. Gradually we try to make the risk zero, even if that does not exist,” he said, acknowledging the inherent dangers of race riding and the impossibility of eliminating risk altogether.
Lemaire was also asked if he had a view on the use of the whip and the raft of differing rules that exist around the world. In Japan, the JRA rules relating to the whip do not limit strikes, but do demand a jockey does not use the whip ‘wrongfully,’ similar to the rules in Hong Kong, but in Europe and some parts of the United States, the rules are much more restrictive and the punishments stern.
In Britain a jockey is allowed to hit their mount with the whip only six times during a race, in accordance with whip use guidance; in France the maximum is four; in the United States, it varies from State to State, from no limit on strikes in most, to a maximum of six in California and New Jersey.
“I understand people are working on the right way to use a whip, and we talk about horse racing image, but I’m not sure it’s the main problem facing horse racing,” Lemaire said.
“When we travel abroad, the main concern for a jockey is not to know about the shape of the track … it is about whip rules. How many times can I use the whip? How long will I be (suspended) if I exceed the number of hits with the whip? How much money will be cut off if I exceed the number (of strikes) with the whip?”
Take also shared his view that this situation is problematic for jockeys and is not welcomed by his peers.
“Among jockeys, the current rules for whip use is something that not many people are happy about,” he said. “The use of the whip is for many things: to encourage the horse to run straight, to run faster, but then sometimes we use the whip on the horse for safety reasons, but even then, when we do this, we might get a suspension and that frustrates me.
“If there are going to be stricter rules, in terms of how many times we can use the whip, as a jockey, that’s not something I want to see and I think that’s the same for most other jockeys.”
Lemaire believes education is the answer.
“We have to teach the young jockeys how to use the whip properly and then the stewards should know how to judge if a jockey uses the whip properly or not,” he said.
“We must also show the public that we are horsemen and teach them that hitting a horse is not to inflict pain to the horse but to help it to run straight or give it a signal to run faster. If we teach people then they will understand and the rules don’t have to be as strict as we have now (in some places).”
