Ongoing whip debate shows just why racing must stand firm in face of its critics

The whip debate has been ongoing for the last few months and despite the huge amount of discussion and media coverage it has received, I don’t feel anyone really has much of a notion of what will happen – or if indeed anything will happen at all.

The BHA has not made much of an effort to explain the situation but simply stated it will continue to monitor the issue – or words to that effect. Of course, there are many opinions on the issue, which has made it all the more interesting, with ex-jockeys, trainers and of course 'Joe Public' all expressing views.

My main question is this – at what point do we allow the uninformed and ‘non-fans’ to become the writers of the rule book? People who for their own reasons feel strongly enough about the whip deem racing to be cruel, and yet they have never stepped inside a racing yard or have no experience of equine sport on which to base their opinions.