All you racing people

I certainly wouldn't have thought so. I did have the racing on, something I try not to miss on a Saturday, but someone rang me right in the middle and we talked for ages so I missed most of the racing. Who was the jockey and which was the horse? I know they are not supposed to lift their arm/wrist above shoulder height and that they are only allowed a certain number of strikes between the last fence and the winning post. Jockeys will often wave their whip as if they are using it but without touching the horse, to encourage them home.

See the following, tho' there's no mention of 'wrong way round'.

The approved device is actually a plastic, narrow circumference rod that is used to beat rather than whip equine flesh. The Jockey Club requires that it should meet the following specifications:

Maximum length 68cms
Minimum diameter of 1 cm
If a flap is attached to the whip, it must fall within the 68cms total length and itself have a maximum length of 10 cms and maximum width of 4cms and cannot contain any reinforcements or additions.
Since 1st October 2003, it has been mandatory for National Hunt (jump) jockeys to use a whip with shock absorbing padding or cushioning throughout its circumference. This requirement does not apply to All Weather or Flat racing. The new 'Pro-cush' whip is the market leader in meeting the criteria for shock absorption.

The rules for new NH jockeys' whips also stipulate that there shall be no binding within 23cms of the end of the flap, and that the flap must have similar shock absorbing characteristics.

The overall weight of the whip must not exceed 160 grams.

I'd be very interested to know whether this was a contravention of the JC Rules and if it was spotted by the Racecourse Stewards - I'll have a look in my Racing Post, tomorrow.
 
Are you sure it wasn't just the shape of the pro-cush whip- I think they look a bit unorthodox and are quite thick at the "beating" end.
 
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