'ANIMAL WELFARE LOBBY HAS GIVEN US GREAT DISPENSATION’

AUSTRALIAN Racing Board chairman Bob Bentley today warned jockeys that further upsetting the animal welfare lobby could have catastrophic implications for the racing industry.

“You have to look at this issue rationally and understand the concerns of the RSPCA and the animal welfare lobby. They have given us great dispensation in their understanding of the necessity for the use of whips in horse racing,” Bentley told Sport 927 in Melbourne.

“They would have liked us to drop the padded whip. They could bring in regulations and rules that could ruin our industry. The ARB has to balance what is best for the industry.

“We have enough problems in this industry without having a conflict with the jockeys. The new whip rules are 100 per cent supported by the stewards. The general public, away from racing, accept that the rules we have brought in are fair and reasonable,” Bentley said.

“The new rule has only been in for 40 days. It is not in the best interests of jockeys or racing for jockeys to be blatantly disobeying the rule. Striking is not the way to go. It is your industry and your income. Things like this do damage to the industry.”

Bentley made it clear that the jockeys have little room to move in the consultation process despite their treats to return to strike action next week.

He asked Glen Boss, a co-host of the Sports 927 racing show: “How much more consultation do you need? We have been through an expensive consultation period with a lot of parties over a long period of time.

“What we haven’t done is accepted the jockeys argument. We have given you a good hearing. If the jockeys have something else to bring forward the door is always open. But if there is nothing new let’s work through this and have the review that the ARB promised in February,” Bentley said.

With anger still spilling over from the ‘snap strike’ by jockeys that brought meetings to a standstill in four states on Thursday afternoon, another problem is looming for the participants.

There were suggestions today that Victorian stewards could call on jockeys who took strike action to explain why they shouldn’t face a charge of failing to fulfill their commitments.

With the threat to disrupt the Melbourne Spring Carnival sympathy appeared to shift away from the jockeys overnight in their move to have the whip rule relaxed.

Prior to yesterday’s snub by the ARB they appeared to have the support of most industry stake-holders. The issue now is whether that sense of solidarity in the ranks will be retained.

Trainers are already talking about apprentices filling the void should the senior jockeys strike but there appear to be some major insurance hurdles to that happening. There are already suggestions that some seniors will break ranks and that racing authorities could scout strike-breaking riders from New Zealand and Asia.

Leading owner Lloyd Williams has already criticized the ‘strike action’ taken by jockeys. “In my business life I’ve had plenty of decisions made by rule makers go against me. Some of those decisions have been terrible. But you have to accept them,” he said.