RACING:UNOFFICIAL STRIKE action by jockeys in protest at the British Horseracing Authority's new whip rules appeared to be increasingly likely yesterday, when the Professional Jockeys' Association released a statement on the dispute which called for "urgent action" to find a resolution and suggested that "many jockeys will independently decide not to take part in some racing fixtures next week".

Pressure on the BHA to address the riders’ concerns was further increased when Tony McCoy and Frankie Dettori, probably the most famous riders in Britain over jumps and on the Flat, said that their previous support for the new whip regime had failed to account for the “full implications and practical consequences of the new rules and penalties”.

The BHA has asked its Review Group on the whip, which conducted a 10-month study of the issue before publishing its recommendations in late September, to report back by tomorrow at the latest on possible amendments to the new rules proposed by jockeys’ representatives on Monday.

The proposals which the PJA put to the BHA at Monday’s meeting were also released yesterday. The jockeys’ body is content to restrict whip use to seven and eight strokes on the Flat and over jumps respectively, but wants the final-furlong rule removed on the Flat along with restrictions on strokes from the last over jumps.

The PJA also wants all financial penalties to be abandoned, including the forfeiture of winning percentage which cost Christophe Soumillon £52,000 after winning the Champion Stakes at Ascot on Saturday. It describes these penalties as “unnecessary and disproportionate”, with “a number of unintended consequences on others, including valets, agents, the PJA and a number of important group insurance schemes.”

The jockeys also want a sliding scale for penalties for riders found to have used the whip with excessive frequency, with one hit over the limit incurring two days’ suspension, up to 10 days for three hits over the limit. The PJA’s decision to release the details of its demands is a surprise.