Handedness of whip use by Australian Jockeys.

The research article investigates the comparability of whip use in horse racing by jockeys in Melbourne and Sydney, Australia, based on the direction of races and handedness of the jockeys. The findings suggest that there is no significant difference between whip hand use in the two cities or by individual jockeys, however, right-handed jockeys exhibited stronger dominance compared to left-handed ones.

Methods

• The study was conducted using photographic evidence from Thoroughbred horse races in Melbourne, where races run counterclockwise, and Sydney, where races run clockwise.
• Where whip use was clearly visible in the photograph, the researchers identified the venue, the hand holding the whip, and the names of the jockey and the horse.
• The Chi-squared test was used to compare whip hand use between the two cities.

Results

• The study made a total of 771 identifications, with 328 from Melbourne and 443 from Sydney, encompassing 78 jockeys and 506 horses.
• Right-handed whip use was more prevalent in both Melbourne (74.39%) and Sydney (70.65%), with no significant difference between the two (P = 0.53).
• There was also no significant difference in the handedness of whip use by individual jockeys (P = 0.74), but right-handed jockeys showed significantly stronger dominance (84.51 ± 14.03%) than left-hand dominant riders (71.07 ± 9.40%; P = 0.01).
• Where the same horse was ridden by the same jockey in different races (84 instances), the whip was used in the same hand in 64 cases. In the remaining cases, the whip was observed to be used in both hands by the same jockey.

Conclusions

• The results support the assertion that the whip can be used as a steering aid during races, given that its use was often consistent with the jockey’s dominant hand and did not differ based on the direction of the race.