Cauthen Gets 2nd Ban for Misuse of Whip

U.S. jockey Steve Cauthen, seeking reform of a controversial whip rule that already had landed him a four-day riding ban, lost his appeal Wednesday and was given a six-day suspension for a second infraction.

Cauthen, one of Europe’s leading jockeys and a winner of the Triple Crown in the United States in 1978, was banned for four days last Thursday for misuse of the whip during the Goodwood Cup.

The British Jockey Club disciplinary committee Wednesday imposed the six-day suspension for a second offense at the same meeting. Cauthen’s suspension will start Saturday and end Aug. 17.

He will miss the Prix Jacques le Marois at Deauville, France, on Aug. 16 but will return for the start of England’s York meeting.

Cauthen was backed in the hearing by leading trainers and jockeys but was found guilty of improper riding on Daru in the Levy Handicap.

The rule bans use of the whip on the horse’s shoulder. Cauthen argued the rule prevented a jockey from riding the mount to the horse’s fullest ability.

“Naturally, I am very disappointed with the result, especially as I felt that the evidence and explanations produced would be accepted,” he said. “I feel nothing would be gained by appealing, but hope that this case will be a catalyst for positive change of an unsatisfactory situation--and, therefore, that racing ultimately will have benefited.”