JIGGERS - AN ELECTRIC SHOCK TO THE RACING SYSTEM!

​This is Aussie jurisdiction, so perhaps not wholly applicable to here in Britain and Ireland but I think the use of ‘jiggers’ and intentional doping are two evils that hang from the same bush.
At a time when Australian racing has never held such a prominent position in the racing world it must be maddening for the governing body of Australian state racing to have to ban its leading trainer for four years for the illegal possession of an instrument as heinous as a cattle-prod, and we must assume use of such a banned device. The shudders of discontent amongst racing professionals in Australia right now must be so appreciable that every conversation must either begin or end with the word ‘jigger’.
Of course, the inference is that if Darren Weir, Australia’s winning-most racehorse trainer, is not beyond the use of ‘jiggers’, then the evil practise must be widespread. I doubt if it is, not at the metropolitan racecourses. Though having read the autobiographies of several Australian jockeys, all of whom write of ‘getting away with stuff at the country courses’, it would not surprise me if away from the vigilant eye, ‘jiggers’ were as much of a fall-back as blinkers to improve the mind and form of horses with as much laziness in their character as ability.
And we shouldn’t dismiss the cocaine aspect of this case. The immediate thought is that it was for human use, yet once upon a time, especially in America, it too was used to give a horse a wake-up call. The Hon. George Lambton wrote copiously on the subject in his autobiography ‘Men & Horses I Have Known’. Doping with cocaine came to our shores via Americans who came to train over here during the late 1800’s and into the 1900’s. It is was not forbidden at the time to administer dope and cocaine was the dope of choice. Of course, the Stewards of The Jockey Club would not believe it was rife in the sport as cunning trainers would only use cocaine on selling platers. Lambton was outraged by the Jockey Club’s unwillingness to deal with the matter that he got hold of some cocaine and proceeded to dope six of his own horses, neither of whom had shown any inclination to win either a race or a trial on the gallops. Five out of the six won, the other finished second. He presented the facts to the Jockey Club, as well as the suspicions of three leading vets, and finally doping was made illegal.
Why Weir had an unlicensed firearm on his premises is another matter entirely.
The big problem racing has here in Britain, and I assume it might be the same in Australia, is one of public perception. Darren Weir has acted in real life as is written about by authors of racing thrillers. People opposed to racing will point to Darren Weir and claim that it is from ‘his kind’ that authors of racing thrillers get their plots and characters. It is why I am so opposed to the use of racing as the subject matter for the thriller genre and refuse to have such books in my library.
Also, and this is a matter for every racing professional to ponder and reflect upon, is four years an appropriate punishment? ‘Jiggers’ are used for the same purpose as the administration of an illegal substance, the so-called ‘milkshake’, for instance. If Weir has used a ‘jigger’ only say ten times, isn’t that as much a violation of the rules as ten failed dope tests? Wouldn’t you expect a habitual doper to be warned-off for life? At a time when horse welfare is of paramount importance in our sport, shouldn’t the Australian authorities be throwing the book at Weir for animal cruelty. He was administering an electric-shock to his horses.
Though the buck seems to be stopping with Weir, if the ‘jigger’ was used in a race then a jockey or jockeys are getting away with a crime that has rocked the foundation of Australian racing and brought it into disrepute. This jockey or jockeys are equally as guilty as Weir and I hope the investigation into the scandal does not confine itself to Weir and his assistant, who is also a licensed trainer.
If a trainer or jockey were found with such a device in this country and it could be proved it was used in a race, I would expect that person to be warned-off for life. For the harm such a scandal would cause I cannot see any other punishment would fit the crime. I rather suspect that in four years’ time Darren Weir will apply for a license to train and awash with shame and penitence he will return to the fold. But rather like a murderer released from prison on parole, to begin his life anew, the victims of the crime will suffer loss and grief for a whole life-time. The victim in Weir’s crime, as well, of course, as the horses he abused, is the sport of horse racing, not only in Australia but by implication all around the world. Four years, to my mind, is little more than a slap on the wrists.