Whipping to win: measured violence, delegated sovereignty and the privatised domination of non- human life

In August 2009 the Australian Racing Board responded to welfare concerns by introducing a range of regulatory measures pertaining to the use of whips in horse-related races, trials and trackwork.3 Clause AR137A of the Australian Rules of Racing were substantially redrafted, with the formal regulation to mandate the use of ‘padded whips,’ the introduction of rules regulating the number of times that a rider might use a whip on a horse in a race, and regulation of the way in which the rider should deliver the strike. In addition, the use of stock whips, as a means to force horses into the starting gates, was banned altogether. The rules were – at least prima facie – stricter in nature, offering more detail than the regulation that had previously governed the use of whips.4 In March of 2009, the Chairman of the ARB had commented of the introduction of the rules that:These changes send a clear message that Australian Racing is fully attuned to contemporary community expectations. The need for change is clear and there was no point fiddling around at the edges. There is no point pro crastinating where there is industry and public expectations that practices of the past are no longer condoned. Once we opened up the subject we were determined to do it properly.5