The U.K aka home of horse racing, is about to cop a massive change to whip rules

Three weeks back I reported that The Jockey Club in America had received recommendations to ban the use of the whip in the home straight.

The Jockey Club sent this to all stake holders and some tracks will introduce reduced whipping. Woodbine starts very soon.

But….like is often the case, when something like that is reported it stirs a great lot of robust debate.

And along with that comes ignorant fools who attack the publication for reporting the news as if they (the publication) are the reason the news was being made.

OK, well I’m certain that ignorance will spill forth again here when you read this.

As you wake this morning, the time-honoured and often revered Racing Post in the U.K has been besieged with hate social media mail, et al today because it ran a story about whip use.

What you will read next is the opening 3 paragraphs as they appeared in the Racing Post. And remember…..the publication is JUST the messenger of what happened in parliament.

“A future Labour government would launch a review of the whip in racing as part of a move to radically strengthen animal welfare law.

The pledge is part of Labour’s 50-point animal welfare manifesto, which is set to be unveiled on Wednesday, and will heighten fears that British racing could be subject to politically motivated outside regulation in the future.

In the manifesto, under the section ‘Animals in sport’, the use of the whip as a motivational tool is questioned, with the pledge that a Labour government would carry out an independent review into its use.”

So two things.

It’s not just North America that is now VERY concerned about whip usage and is endeavouring to find ways to have a jock carry a whip but not use it in what looks like a cruel fashion.

The U.K, home of horse racing, is about to cop a massive change too. If not this year then soon enough.

So go on, have your say but as you do….’don’t kill the messenger here.’

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