How do we stop racing looking such a total shambles? It's just common sense

A week on, the dust has settled on the recent farcical scenes at Cheltenham and Fontwell involving races run in the gloom, but another common theme of the two shambolic incidents seems no closer to being addressed.

The commonality is that racing's rules, in a world full of grey areas, leave no room for anything other than absolute black and white – and when black and white isn't available, the sport doesn't have a clue what to do about it.

Regarding the decision to disqualify the seven horses who bypassed a hurdle at Fontwell, a BHA spokesman said there was no option as they had taken the wrong course. In other words, there's nothing in the rules that allows for the application of common sense, which is ridiculous. None of the jockeys was at fault, none gained an unfair advantage, yet they all had to be slung out, making the sport look ludicrous into the bargain.