curious

I'd like to see the data you have supporting that view please.

Absolutely. I've been present when a horse was given IV bute 48 hours prior to raceday for ouchy feet after shoeing. Horse won. Swab was clear. Vet was confident and it unlikely had any effect on performance.

Makes no difference according to the UK data.

Exactly. If you were carrying the whip for control, you'd do so in your outside hand wouldn't you?

Is that why most jockeys carry the whip in their right hand when going right-handed? If they were using it for control, surely they'd carry it in their left hand?

I don't think either Oliver or V'Landys have much of a leg to stand on. Hard to educate the public that whips don't hurt horses when the research says they clearly do. I don't think the public is that gullible but maybe I'm wrong. https://www.sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2020/11/12/first-conclusive-evidence-horses-hurt-by-whips--whips-don-t-aid-.html First conclusive evidence horses hurt by whips, whips don't aid jockeys 12 November 2020 Conclusions based on 10 years of research could rock racing industry Two papes published in journal Animals lend support to a ban on whipping in horse racing. They respectively show that horses feel as much pain as humans would when whipped, and that the whip does not enhance race safety. Do horses feel pain when whipped? Racing industry officials have long held that they don’t. Yet in two studies released around Melbourne Cup week, Professor Paul McGreevy from the University of Sydney School of Veterinary Science and his colleagues have found that not only have horses evolved to feel as much pain when whipped as a human would, but that there is no compelling reason to whip these animals at all. The culmination of nearly a decade of research, these findings have the potential to fundamentally change the racing industry, locally and worldwide. Published across two papers in open access journal Animals, Professor McGreevy says he would not be surprised if the findings prompt the phasing-out of whipping in Australian racing within two years. Whipping hurts horses Professor McGreevy and colleagues examined whether horses are likely to feel as much pain as humans would when whipped. Using microscopic samples of skin from 10 deceased humans and 20 euthanised horses, they looked for differences between the species’ skin structure and nerve supply. The results revealed “no significant difference” between humans and horses in the concentration of nerve endings in the outer layers of skin, nor any difference in thickness of this skin layer. “This was not surprising, as horses, like humans, need robust yet sensitive skin to respond to touch, say, from flying insects or other horses,” said Professor McGreevy. “From this, we can deduce that horses are likely to feel as much pain as humans would when being whipped.” “Repeated strikes of the whip in horses that are fatigued as they end a race are likely to be distressing and cause suffering. A horse’s loss of agency as it undergoes this kind of repeated treatment is thought to lead to learned helplessness.” Images of horse (A) and human (B) skin, showing comparable epidermal thickness. Whipping doesn’t make racing safer, faster or fairer In another paper, Professor McGreevy and colleagues, including Professor Phil McManus from the School of Geosciences, used data from the UK racing industry to compare 67 races with whips to 59 without, controlled for variables including number of horses, racetrack surface characteristics on the day, and race distance. “In the UK, unlike in Australia, the racing authorities hold whip-free races for apprentice jockeys,” Professor McGreevy explained. “This seems at odds with the racing industry’s claim that whips are necessary for steering, and therefore, jockey safety. “Nevertheless, our analysis of racing stewards’ reports from the two types of races revealed no statistical safety difference between races with and without whips.” He and his co-authors also found that race times and metrics of racing integrity – compliance with rules – did not differ between the kinds of races. “This invalidates industry assumptions to the contrary,” Professor McGreevy said. “The findings of this study clearly show that the use of whips in horse racing is unnecessary, unjustifiable and unreasonable.” The use of whips in horse racing: background facts According to the rules of Australian racing, before the final 100 metres, horses must be struck no more than five times. Ove the final 100 metres, they can be struck every stride. The industry has said that the padded whip (mandated since 2009) prevents the horse from feeling pain (but does not stop it from feeling ‘encouragement’). It has been shown that unpadded sections of the whip, that most likely cause greater pain than the padded sections, are more likely than not to make contact with the horse. Aside from this, there is evidence that the padded sections can also cause damage. Rules around whip use are hard to police. Previous studies by Professor McGreevy’s team have revealed evidence of at least 28 examples of breaches of the whip rules in 15 NSW races, that did not appear in routine, post-race steward reports. Norway outlawed the whipping of racehorses in 1982. Meanwhile, in the UK, since 1999, The Jockey Club, and more recently, the British Horseracing Authority, have run whip-free races for apprentice jockeys since 1999. In Australia, three quarters of the public support a ban on whipping. Declaration: These studies and the costs of open access publication were supported by the Sydney School of Veterinary Science and the RSPCA Australia.

Yes. Super work from Kirsty to get this all cracking and new industry workers as a result.

Who would have thought? Meeting News Foxton to Trial 12 September Given the current run of weather the trials scheduled for Tuesday 12 September will now be held at Foxton. This decision may be revisited closer to the time if the weather significantly deteriorates.

It’s no secret that the massive scale of government stimulus through the pandemic has seen core Crown borrowing surge in nominal terms. It was up another 17 per cent in the year to May 30 — to $193.63b.

New Zealand’s total gross debt continues to expand and break new records. Liam Dann Liam Dann 1506 words 24 July 2023 The New Zealand Herald NZHLD A018 English Copyright 2023 NZME Publishing Ltd. New Zealand’s total gross debt continues to expand and break new records. In our annual Nation of Debt series, we tally all the nation’s debt statistics, from across the private and public sectors. This year we’ve hit a grand total of $790 billion. That’s up from $739b last year — a relatively subdued increase of 7 per cent. But that’s now an average of $151,000 in raw debt for every Kiwi. Since the series began in 2016 that total nominal figure has ballooned by 60 per cent — from $492.5b.

Some ride here

A couple more from this season. Such fun.

200 horses booked to go round there tomorrow though, from New Plymouth to Hastings, including the likes of Pennyweka among a number of good ones. Connections speak.

30 heats at Te Awamutu tomorrow. 29 at Foxton.

Foxton's racing club still alive and kicking https://www.stuff.co.nz/manawatu-standard/opinion/300936714/foxtons-racing-club-still-alive-and-kicking

They should also be funded to make sure grass training gallops are available most of the time. It is ridiculous that Awapuni trainers have to take their horses to Foxton for that or likewise Riccarton trainers to Rangiora.

I think if they are going to concentrate trials at the likes of Awapuni and Riccarton, which is fine with respect to proximity of the horse populations, then those tracks have to run 10 or 12 grass trial meetings a year whether that be on the course proper or a trial grass if they have one suitable.

Yes. And should be better funded for that purpose. Only subsidisation from the trial business keeps the training facilities available.

Probably not a total waste Freda. A very good trialling and training facility with grass training tracks available almost year round and the ploughs pretty much all weather. Might be better in that respect than Riccarton has become?

And a week later.

Some clubs do but they certainly don't stay in business from racedays for the most part. Industry days are lucky to cover costs for most clubs, as the likes of Reefton I'm sure will tell you. And if they do it is the outside income from pokies, overseas racing etc. that allows NZTR to sufficiently fund clubs to run them. They are not fully funded by the revenue that they generate directly from wagering. Doubt there is a race day in NZ that is anymore.