Holding the whip hand—a note on the distribution of jockeys’ whip hand preferences in Australian Thoroughbred racing

Handedness of whip use by Australian Jockeys

“…However, the similarity in the proportion of right-handed whip use in Melbourne and Sydney identified by us contrasts with the findings of McGreevy and Oddie, who reported 91.5% carriage of the whip in the right hand in Melbourne, compared with 53.5% in Sydney. 4 The 46.5% rate of left-handed whip use they observed in Sydney races exceeds the previously reported values in humans. The reasons for the difference between the two studies could not be determined, although the present study used almost double the number of observations of McGreevy and Oddie, 4 who also included any picture in which the whip was clearly visible, whereas we limited identifications to when the whip was in use.…”

“…4 The 46.5% rate of left-handed whip use they observed in Sydney races exceeds the previously reported values in humans. The reasons for the difference between the two studies could not be determined, although the present study used almost double the number of observations of McGreevy and Oddie, 4 who also included any picture in which the whip was clearly visible, whereas we limited identifications to when the whip was in use.…”

“…This position differs from that adopted by McGreevy and Oddie who reported that evidence of jockey handedness weakens the argument for the whip as an aid to safety. 4 There are a number of issues regarding their study that warrant consideration. The first is that the conclusions were based on the assumption that 'if the whip is helpful in steering racehorses, it would be of greatest benefit in keeping horses close to the rail as they navigate a bend, thus countering the natural tendency of horses to drift away from the bend' , and that if 'jockeys are using the whip to guide horses, they would generally hold the whip in the right hand when racing counter clockwise and, similarly, generally hold the whip in the left hand when racing clockwise' .…”

“…4 Our purpose was to generate additional quantitative data in order to contribute to discussion regarding the use of the whip as a safety tool.…”

“…Because the value of the whip as a safety tool is central to any decision regarding its use, and the evidence supporting its safety value is anecdotal, we sought to build on the work of McGreevy and Oddie by applying different analyses to data collected using their methods. 4 Our purpose was to generate additional quantitative data in order to contribute to discussion regarding the use of the whip as a safety tool.…”