WHEREAS on September 18, 2019 the AGCO released Thoroughbred Directive No. 4 - 2019 – Revision to Urging Provisions which revised the rules and Directives with respect to urging and specifically that use of the crop be limited to:
AND WHEREAS enforcement of the revisions applied at Woodbine Racetrack only commencing October 18, 2019 until the remainder of the 2019 racing season;
AND WHEREAS the AGCO has now had an opportunity to evaluate the enforcement of the revisions and has determined that the revisions enhance the health and safety of horses and participants, and the integrity of racing;
TAKE NOTICE that the revisions prescribed pursuant to Thoroughbred Directive No. 4 - 2019 – Revision to Urging Provisions shall now apply to all Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing in Ontario;
AND FURTHER TAKE NOTICE the AGCO wishes to clarify that the Penalty Guidelines and assessment of the penalty are intended to have a retrospective effect;
AND FURTHER TAKE NOTICE that the Registrar rescinds Thoroughbred Directive No. 4
- 2019 Revision to Urging Provisions and hereby orders the Rules of Thoroughbred Racing be amended effectively immediately, as follows:
Rules of Thoroughbred Racing
…
9.27.07 At any time while on the grounds of an Association, it is a violation for a jockey, or rider, or the person in control of the horse, to use the riding crop to hit or make contact with the horse as follows:
9.27.08 Violation of any of the provisions in Rule to 9.27.07 may result in any of the following penalties:
Further particulars in respect to the penalties are provided in Thoroughbred Directive 1 - 2020 – Revision to Urging Provisions, which also provides principles which serve as a guide for interpretation. The Directive may be modified from time to time by the Registrar.
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PENALTY GUIDELINES RULE 9.27
Any violation of Rule 9.27.05, 9.27.06 and 9.27.07 is an offence and covered by this penalty structure.
Races with a purse of under $100,000
1st offence |
|
---|---|
Min Monetary Penalty |
$200 |
Minimum Riding Suspension |
0 days |
Other Penalty |
Mandatory meeting with the Stewards for the purposes of providing training on the Rules. |
2nd offence within one year of the 1st offence |
|
---|---|
Min Monetary Penalty |
$300 |
Minimum Riding Suspension |
1 day |
Other Penalty |
Mandatory meeting with the Stewards for the purposes of providing training on the Rules |
3rd offence within one year of the 1st offence |
|
---|---|
Min Monetary Penalty |
$500 |
Minimum Riding Suspension |
3 days |
Other Penalty |
Mandatory meeting with the Stewards for the purposes of providing training on the Rules |
4th offence within one year of the 1st offence |
|
---|---|
Min Monetary Penalty |
|
Minimum Riding Suspension |
Immediate Suspension |
Other Penalty |
Referral to the Director |
OFFENCE – Cutting or Welting the Horse
1st offence |
|
---|---|
Min Monetary Penalty |
$300 |
Minimum Riding Suspension |
1 day |
Other Penalty |
Mandatory meeting with the Stewards for the purposes of providing training on the Rules |
2nd offence within one year of the 1st offence |
|
---|---|
Min Monetary Penalty |
$500 |
Minimum Riding Suspension |
3 days |
Other Penalty |
Mandatory meeting with the Stewards for the purposes of providing training on the Rules. |
3rd offence within one year of the 1st offence |
|
---|---|
Min Monetary Penalty |
|
Minimum Riding Suspension |
Immediate Suspension |
Other Penalty |
Referral to the Director |
Races with a purse of $100,000 and over |
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For any offence that takes place in a race where the purse is $100,000 or more, the penalty shall be a minimum monetary penalty of 20% of the jockey’s earnings for placings 1st through 5th and shall be a minimum monetary penalty equivalent to 20% of the jockey’s earning for 5th place for placings 6th and on. If in the opinion of the Stewards, the offence was egregious, a riding suspension may be issued. While discretion is available to the Stewards, the riding suspension should be calculated at 1 day riding suspension for each $200,000 of total purse money for the race. |
Placing of a horse may be considered by the Stewards where the misuse of the riding crop caused interference with another horse or, in the opinion of the Stewards, there has been a flagrant disregard for these rules. |
Application of the Guidelines will take into consideration the following:
This Policy was established to provide more description of what constitutes an offence under the Rules regarding inappropriate urging of the horse in Ontario racing:
Indiscriminate action means unrestrained or careless activity without regard for safety or care.
For the purposes of Rule 9.27.05 (a), the following are examples of indiscriminate action but do not constitute an exhaustive list:
Excessive action means unreasonable quantity or degree.
For the purposes of Rule 9.27.05 (b), the following are examples of excessive action with respect to inappropriate urging of the horse but does not constitute an exhaustive list:
Aggressive action means inhumane, severe or brutal activity
For the purposes of Rule 9.27.05 (c), the following are examples of aggressive action but do not constitute an exhaustive list:
Meaningful Position (9.27.06) means the horse has a reasonable opportunity to finish in an advantageous position. Examples of meaningful include, but are not limited to, maintaining times, receiving points towards future races or earning purse monies.
Giving the horse a chance to respond (9.27.05 Excessive Action) means limiting the number of strikes applied to a horse in succession, in order to give the horse a chance to respond to the application. The rule requires that riding crop use shall not be continued if the horse is unable to respond or does not respond. The skill of the jockey comes in to play in assessing the horse’s ability to continue to respond. The riding crop is one of a number of tools available to the jockey to encourage the horse forward, weight, voice and hand riding being others.
Under a process established by the Executive Director in the fall of 2008 to gather industry input on the appropriate use of the riding crop in horse racing, it was recognized that the use of the riding crop is a necessary tool in racing.
The following principles were agreed to and serve as a guide for all decision making on rule development:
The outcome of the industry discussion has led to the revision of rules regarding the appropriate methods for urging a horse in racing.
BY ORDER OF THE REGISTRAR
Jean Major
Registrar