MOST key groups involved in racing yesterday scoffed at new research from two University of Sydney veterinarians that claims whipping racehorses is pointless and does not make a difference to the outcome of a race, reports The Age.It says: Study co-author and honorary associate professor, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Dr David Evans, said the results offered no support for the retention of whipping in horseracing. "We looked at running times in a series of races, how whips were used and wh

MOST key groups involved in racing yesterday scoffed at new research from two University of Sydney veterinarians that claims whipping racehorses is pointless and does not make a difference to the outcome of a race, reports The Age.

It says: Study co-author and honorary associate professor, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Dr David Evans, said the results offered no support for the retention of whipping in horseracing. "We looked at running times in a series of races, how whips were used and whether that whip use influenced the outcome of a race,'' he said.

''What we found was that whipping did not affect the probability of whether or not a horse finished a race in the first three placings.

''How a horse ran in the first part of a race, when it wasn't being whipped, was the most critical factor in racing success. So horses are being whipped in the final stages of a race, in the face of muscle fatigue, for no benefit."

The research was funded by RSPCA Australia.

But jockeys, trainers and owners contacted last night considered the findings to be flawed and completely without foundation. ''Give me a tape of 500 races and I will show you the reason a majority of winners won, and that was from good whip-riding,'' one leading jockey said.

A Flemington trainer was more critical. ''I know with most academics they have to be published or perish, but they should spend their time on curing MS or cancer instead of insulting the industry with this baseless garbage,'' he said.