Stewards push for changes to change whip rules

STEWARDS are set to recommend Racing Australia make changes to the controversial new whip laws.

STEWARDS are set to recommend Racing Australia make changes to the controversial new whip laws.

Racing NSW chairman of stewards Ray Murrihy said it was one of the key discussion points at this week’s National Stewards’ Conference and indicated he would like to see more flexibility in the application of the rule.

“It didn’t sit terribly well with me when you’re penalising someone for being one or two over (before the 100m) and then in the last 100m they are hardly using the whip at all,” Murrihy said on RSN radio on Wednesday.

Racing Australia chief executive Peter McGauran said he will await the report from the Chairman of Stewards Conference before making any comment on potential recommendations.

“It won’t be canvassed in the public arena beforehand,” McGauran said.

It seems likely stewards will seek an amendment to protests in regard to whip infringements following the historic decision by Racing Queensland stewards to uphold an objection on the Sunshine Coast.

Stewards also discussed the cobalt threshold of 200mg/l and possibly bringing it into line with international standards.

â–  THE appeal by Darryl Hansen into his disqualification for an elevated TC02 reading has been deferred yet again after new submissions were made by RQ. The case relates to a swab returned by Hansen’s How Can I Help dating back to a meeting at Ipswich in August last year.

Originally published as Stewards push for changes to change whip rules