Horse Racing

The publication comes as the Australian racing industry is debating the use of whips and follows the $50,000 fine handed to jockey Kerrin McEvoy for excessive whip use in the Melbourne Cup.

That fine was subsequently halved on appeal.

Racing Victoria is leading a push to gradually phase out the use of whips altogether.

In a statement released in September, Racing Victoria chief executive Giles Thompson said: "Australian racing has been left behind when it comes to reforms on whip use."

RNZ reports the race was held at Rovo Bay, Shefa's Provincial Sub District Centre on Epi Island.

Local investors on Epi, Robert Monvoisin and Ian Makira, said racehorses that won two years in a row would compete in the nation's annual Kiwanis Horse Race in Port Vila.

Senior Police Officer Superintendent Jackson Noal, who was present, said 500 villagers cheered the horses. He said he also used the event to promote crime prevention on the island.