The Kentucky Derby is one of the most watched sporting events in the world. This year, at least two jockeys exceeded the legal limit for whip use during Derby weekend, and one of the horses involved left the track with a chipped knee requiring surgery.

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) sets the riding crop limit at six uses per race. Jockey Cristian Torres struck Search Party eight times in the Kentucky Oaks and Robusta seven times in the Kentucky Derby, both over the limit. Jockey Atsuya Nishimura struck Danon Bourbon seven times in the Derby, also one over the limit. 

The existence of a limit acknowledges that excessive whipping causes harm. But a limit of six strikes per race is not animal welfare. It is a compromise, and jockeys are routinely willing to pay a fine to exceed it when a race is on the line. Torres was fined $5,000 total across both races. The purses at stake were worth millions.

Fines that can be calculated and absorbed as a cost of competition are not a deterrent. They are a fee.

Racing jurisdictions around the world have moved toward significantly restricting or eliminating the whip, recognizing that the sport's long-term credibility depends on the humane treatment of its animals. American horse racing should lead, not follow.

We are calling on HISA and Churchill Downs to ban the use of the riding crop in all regulated races, beginning with the Kentucky Derby and Triple Crown events, and to establish horse welfare as a non-negotiable standard rather than a negotiable limit.

A sport that markets itself as the most exciting two minutes in sports can afford to stop hitting its horses.