The governing body of French horse racing, France-Galop, announced amendments to its whip regulations on Wednesday, August 10.
“Beginning on Sept. 1, 2023, any horse that is struck more than nine times with the whip will be disqualified prior to wagers being paid out,” the announcement reads.
“This new adjustment is part of the amendments to the racing code that were adopted by the Comité de France Galop in June and subsequently approved by the Minister of Agriculture.”
Since 2017, the use of the whip in French horse racing has been on a steady decline, with the maximum number of strikes allowed decreasing from eight strikes to four as follows:
- March 2017: reduction from 8 to 6 strikes
- March 2019: reduction from 6 to 5 strikes
- May 2023: reduction from 5 to 4 strikes
