THE Professional Jockeys Association called for urgent progress in amending the new whip rules brought into effect last week.

Fears of a strike by jockeys at Windsor and Pontefract on Monday was averted on Friday night after the British Horseracing Authority invited the PJA to a board meeting on Monday.

Representatives of the PJA, including chief executive Kevin Darley, Tony McCoy, Frankie Dettori and Ryan Moore, met with the BHA in London, with a review of the new regulations due from racing’s rulers at the end of the week.

Darley said in a statement: “There is now a process of proper consultation and discussion involving jockeys which should have happened before the original announcement by the British Horseracing Authority last month.

“Had we been properly consulted over some of the important details that relate directly to jockeys prior to that announcement we feel that we would not be in the position we are today.

“Jockeys have no issues with the restricted amount of times they can use the whip under the new rules.

“The careers of jockeys are short by definition and the implications of financial penalties and long suspensions are savagely disproportionate.”

In the PJA statement, Frankie Dettori and Tony McCoy appeared to distance themselves from comments made in a BHA press release when the news rules were unveiled.

They said said in a jointstatement: “In hindsight we would like to have given more thought and consideration to the new rules before commenting.

“We didn’t give them properly informed approval and we really do wish the BHA would stop saying that we did.”

Since the new regulations came into effect last week a number of jockeys have been hit with stiffer punishments.

Richard Hughes pledged not to ride again until the rules had been changed after receiving a second suspension of the week at Kempton on Thursday.

Top French jockey Christophe Soumillon reacted with fury to receiving a ban and forfeiting over £50,000 in prize-money after being found to have hit Saturday’s Qipco Champion Stakes winner Cirrus Des Aigles six times in the final furlong at Ascot.

Kieren Fox is considering his future after being hit with two lengthy bans.

Conditional jumps jockey Tom Molloy was given a seven-day ban at Exeter on Tuesday for hitting Rory Boy 10 times when winning a handicap chase.

Under the new penalties, he also forfeited his riding fee and winning percentage from what was his only mount of the day.

Rory Boy is trained by Graeme McPherson, who is also a QC.

The Gloucestershire handler believes Molloy’s urgings were the difference between victory and defeat.

“If Tom hadn’t gone after him as he did there is no way he would have won the race,” he told At The Races.

“The horse is absolutely fine today and is out in the paddock.

“The rules needed to be changed from what they were in the past because you had excessive use of the whip far and above the maximum permitted and jockeys not really receiving what many would think was adequate punishment.

“By both reducing the number of times they can use the stick and also vastly increasing the punishment they receive if they go over that, maybe the BHA have gone too far the other way.

“The problem is not so much where you draw the line, but what you do when someone goes over that line.

“My feeling is the way forward is moving back towards a higher number but making it very clear to jockeys that if they transgress then the punishment is going to be more severe than it used to be.”