The Australian Jockeys Association has urged thoroughbred racing authorities not to be influenced by the decision of Harness Racing officials to ban the whip in that code.Des OKeeffe from the AJA said Racing Australias whip policy for thoroughbred racing was now best practice and said comparing the two codes was like comparing apples and oranges.Harness has used a much longer and thinner whip that has no padding and is in effect more like a stockwhip whereas jockeys now carry a heavily modified, much shorter and softer equestrian style riding crop that relies on a heavily foam padded flap, OKeeffe said.Harness Racing Australia announced on Saturday that whips would be banned in harness racing from September 1 next year.Racing Australia, through a sub-committee led by former chairman of stewards and Racing Australia board member Des Gleeson, has just completed a review of the whip rule in thoroughbred racing which currently permits jockeys to use the whip five times before the 100m of a race, but not in consecutive strides, with no restrictions in the final 100m.We are absolutely confident that the sub-committees recommendations when adopted will actually result in less use overall, while maintaining the safety of the riders and the integrity of our racing and most importantly, the welfare of our horses, OKeeffe said.Riders in Australia are all for responsible encouragement of their mounts and welcome the proposed addition of discretionary powers becoming available to stewards when policing the rule. Without discretion, the existing rule that was in place over the last twelve months didnt make good sense.Racing Australia chairman John Messara, speaking on RSN927 on Monday, said they felt they had made sufficient changes to the whips and the whip regulations to satisfy people.Messara said that they would be saying a little bit more about the outcome of the review shortly, but said there would not be a whole lot of change to the rules, but rather mild alterations.If there are changes at all it will be to give the stewards a tad more discretion, such that they can take the race as a whole rather than one part of the race and look at sort of literal, specific breaches, Messara said.I think youre going to see some changes where there will be possibly less use of the whip at the end of the race, at the terminal part of the race.And Im seeing it myself and the stewards are seeing it, that jockeys are far less keen to use the whip at the end of the race now than they have been in the past. Pirates Jerseys China . The return match will take place next Wednesday. Udinese leads Fiorentina 2-1 in the other semifinal. Napoli staged a second-half comeback from two goals down after Gervinhos opener and a stunning strike from Kevin Strootman. Wholesale Pirates Jerseys . U.S. District Judge Lorna G. Schofield in Manhattan agreed that lawyers on both sides could make their formal requests by Nov. 8. A hearing is scheduled for a day earlier. Jordan Siev, a lawyer for Rodriguez, wrote in a joint letter to the judge from lawyers on both sides that MLB lawyers planned to ask that the lawsuit be dismissed. https://www.cheappiratesjerseys.us/ . The Americans, skipped by John Shuster, seized the advantage in the eighth end by scoring five points for a 7-3 lead. The Czechs pulled two back in the ninth, but Shusters team of third Jeff Isaacson, second Jared Zezel and lead John Landsteiner ended with another point to secure the last Olympic berth on offer. Pittsburgh Pirates Shirts . John Lucas, signed as a mentor for rookie Trey Burke, showed he can score if required, scoring 12 points of his 16 points in the second quarter as Utah built an 18-point lead. Custom Pittsburgh Pirates Jerseys . It was Kerbers third final of the year after losing to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia in Monterrey in April and to Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic in Tokyo two weeks ago. The 10th-ranked German improved her record in finals to 3-5. Cronullas Jack Bird has accused the NRL of double standards, questioning why Canberra Stadium can host a home final but Shark Park cant.The Sharks go into Saturdays blockbuster with Melbourne walking a tightrope - it they win they take home the minor premiership, but a loss could sink them to third and have them miss out on a valuable home game in the first week of the finals.Finishing third would leave them with the daunting prospect of taking on the Raiders in Canberra.Bird said the Raiders should be forced to take any home final to Sydney after Cronullas request to take a home final to Shark Park was knocked back by the games governing body.All Sydney teams have to play home finals matches in Allianz Stadium or ANZ Stadium, and Bird says its only fair the Raiders be asked to do the same.A home semi is a major key, where a lot of fans come to watch. If we had a semi here at Shark Park, thered be people on the roof, probably, he said.Down there I could picture the same thing.I just thinkk itd be fair that they came to Sydney and played at Allianz or ANZ.ddddddddddddAccording to the NRLs finals venue policy: The highest qualifying teams after 26 rounds will host each match at their normal home venue, with exception to any Sydney-based NRL club, which will play their home game at either the Allianz Stadium or ANZ Stadium.The policy has long been a point of contention among Sydney clubs, in particular Manly, who have trouble convincing fans to travel to finals games.The NRL argue many suburban Sydney grounds arent big enough to host finals.Bird said playing in front of home fans was a big advantage, and facing the Raiders in the nations capital was a big ask.Its their home crowd, theyll get a full stadium of their fans and you know its like going to a different territory with a majority of their fans there, Bird said.Its hard to get the outcome. ' ' '