Kentucky racing regulators took steps Monday toward a first-in-the-nation ban on whipping practices that often result in cuts and welts on harness-racing horses.

A safety and welfare panel on Monday voted to outlaw certain kinds of whips and riding crops that have a snapper, strands of material at the end that can leave welts on horses.

It also recommended restrictions on the way in which a driver can hit a horse. One-handed whipping would be banned, and a new rule would require drivers to keep both hands in front of the body during a race.

Kentucky already fines drivers for injuring horses through whipping, but the changes will add stiff new penalties. Drivers could be suspended for 10 to 30 days and fined $100 to $13,000 for a first offense. They could be suspended for as long as a year and fined as much as $20,000 for using a whip with a snapper.