Fasig-Tipton will fine nine consignors because the riders of their horses misused their riding crops during the Feb. 27 under tack show for the Florida select sale of 2-year-olds in training at Calder Race Course.
“I’m not going to specify the number of incidents because we haven’t finalized that yet,” said Terence Collier, Fasig-Tipton’s director of marketing, March 12. “Seventy-five percent of the whip infractions, or higher, were after the wire. There was very little visible excessive whipping before the wire, and many of the infractions involved one rider whom we will not identify. We feel it’s just a matter of speaking to that person and then tightening up on that policy a little bit.”
The fine is $500 per infraction, and the money will be donated to the equine-related charity of each consignor’s choice.
Use of a riding crop in under tack shows at juvenile auctions is one of the issues addressed in a set of uniform policies that was developed by Fasig-Tipton and four other major auction firms: Barretts, Keeneland, and the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co. Under the policies, a rider is prohibited from striking a horse behind the girth and both of the rider’s hands must be holding the reins within an eighth of a mile before the finish line. A rider also is prohibited from striking a horse in any manner beyond the finish line. However, in situations where the safety of a horse or a rider is in jeopardy, the rider is allowed to control the horse with a riding crop as long as the crop remains in front of the girth.
“They (the infractions) were not particularly blatant,” Collier said, “but we feel like they were identifiable infractions, and we have no option but to invoke the rule and levy a fine. It was a very satisfactory exercise, and we were very pleased with the consignors and their cooperation,” he concluded, adding that the new riding crop policy dramatically reduced use of the whip during the under tack show.
Kim Lloyd told Tracy Gantz, a correspondent for The Blood-Horse, that there were no riding crop use violations during the March 5 under tack show for the Barretts March select sale of 2-year-olds in training in Southern California. Lloyd is the vice president of sales for Barretts.