MONMOUTH WHIP RULE ABSURD & COSTLY TO ALL CONCERNED INCLUDING A MAJOR IMPEDIMENT TO PEDIGREE & ABILITY!

There have been a number of questions and answers with regard to the unpopular “no whip” rule installed rather whimsically at Monmouth Park this season by a group claiming public opinion as the basis for its decision. But any trace of obtainable surveys doesn’t hold up to this hypocrisy claimed mainly by non-participants of the sport using outdated and inaccurate stats. Horse racing does rather well in America considering we operate on less than 12% interest in our product.  The world’s racing horse population, for the most part is coddled and cared for far more than any other domestic animal in existence.  But we live in an age where “bull__t” baffles brains and cancel culture is behind every sport or pastime!  The “whip”, an old adage conjured up from the Clyde Beatty days has been muted successfully by an innovation by jockeys themselves and rivals a wet noodle in comparison to those packed by the equestrian, pony club “stalwarts” and the Amish on the way to their market!  But it is, admittedly, as recognizable to the racing horse as the leash, by the dog that you walked this morning.  It is a “business tool” that alerts them to the action at hand when its “riders up”.  To those who can date back to the indiscriminate “subsidies” of “fixed races”, jockeys were conspicuous and punished by their inert actions and feigned use of the stick while eyeing the speed horse and rabbit enroute to the finish marker!  Thanks to the inept remedies of many of today’s “guardians of justice”, we are reinstating bad habits that encourage the unknown syndicated funders of our international wagering corps or should we say coups!  While we have lengthened the scope and importance of the contestants and placings in each event (pic 5,6) we have seriously shortened the possibility of detection of undesirable “team effort” on behalf of jockeys, by courting an excuse for listless participants.  We have even uncoupled same owner/trainer entries and allow straight betting on the designated rabbits!  But lets get back to the “creaming of the crops” as the “Whales” have coined the weakening of the contest.  Have we gone mad?

Since the New Jersey commission’s failed edict we have seen the numbers fall, including race times that have diminished by as much as 15 lengths.  It has not escaped the knowledgeable punters!

Juddmont Farm’s Garrett O’Roark, commenting on the whip change at Monmouth Park: "I think it's concerning the jockeys more than owners and trainers. I've watched the races at Monmouth and watched an old horse of ours win impressively with his ears pricked at the finish," O'Rourke said. However, Juddmont Farms’ Mandaloun was hit more than six times left handed from the head of the stretch til the wire and earned a strong second in the Kentucky Derby.  Mandaloun will start next in the Pegasus Stakes at Monmouth Park without the aid of the crop. It is surprising to us that a former breeding farm manager would pander to the uninitiated proponents eager to change the contest.  The stud book combined with charts have proven that all pedigree is not spontaneous, and especially colts where professional urging by the use of the crop has demonstrated its efficiency over centuries.

Whip rules and infractions have been in American rule books for over a 150 years but were largely ignored by stewards, in some cases, not willing to have the courage to be unpopular.  But whips have never been compulsory in any racing jurisdiction and owners and trainers have seldom selected a no-whip-trip for their charges.  It is unfortunate and disappointing that horsemen have not supported what jockeys have known since the inception of their trade.

A recent Paulick Report on Monmouth Park’s leading rider, Jose Ferrer’s somewhat confusing comments: Ferrer has found a way to win without the riding crop, and said there's no discernable bias in terms of racing style, but he added that some lazier horses have been “barely blowing” when coming back to be unsaddled. “You won't see the best performance out of these animals — that's what's really going to hurt our sport here in New Jersey in the long run,” Ferrer explained. “We coach these horses, that final quarter mile, tap them on the shoulders and let them know, 'We have to go.' It's time for 110 percent. Horses don't understand language. You can't just tell them, hey let's go. That's what we're really going to miss.” “When I first started in the 80s, my first lesson was hand ride. Hand ride, hand ride, hand ride,” Ferrer said. “I feel in the 90s and 2000s, it was the new generation and there became a lot of riders where the whip took its place. They started whipping like crazy. They didn’t have the foundation and depended on the whip. (an interesting analysis) “But back in the 70s and 80s, look at replays,” Ferrer added. “Guys like [Rudy] Baez, [Laffit] Pincay. These are Hall of Fame-caliber riders. Best in the world. They barely used the whip.” (a closer observation and by those who were there indicates that this is not an accurate statement) Eddie Arcaro, the preeminent jockey of this century, along with other hall of famers proved otherwise, factually and statistically.

“I think for those guys, they are going to have problems coming to Monmouth and just changing overnight. That’s not easy,” Ferrer said. “But it’s like anything, the more you do it the more you learn to adjust.” While the first two weeks of the Monmouth meet has been a success for Ferrer, he maintains New Jersey's strict riding-crop rule is not good for the long-term health of the sport in the state. It simply takes away too much of its competitive nature. “You won’t see the best performance out of these animals -- that’s what’s really going to hurt our sport here in New Jersey in the long run,” Ferrer said. “We coach these horses, that final quarter mile, tap them on the shoulders and let them know, ‘We have to go.’ It’s time for 110 percent. Horses don’t understand language. You can’t just tell them, hey let’s go. That’s what we’re really going to miss.” And so will racing fans everywhere!

But will the purveyors of doom reign supreme in our more than 300 year sport?