Microchipping of individual whips, announced by the British Horseracing Authority in 2009, has long since been abandoned, despite the protestations of the RSPCA’s racing consultant, David Muir. “It’s a concern that there is no real means to check that the whips being used on the course are in fact according to the specifications,” Muir said on Sunday. “If you can’t validate the whip, you can’t be sure it is what it’s supposed to be,” Egan said. “I suspect some of the whips in use may not be what they’re supposed to be, that some riders may be using unapproved whips. However, two of three veteran jump jockeys who spoke to the Guardian said in practice officials did not regularly inspect their whips.

Source: The Guardian March 04, 2018 19:30 UTC