OUCH !!

A confession.   Despite having an uncle who was a National Hunt jockey, I know absolutely nothing about horse racing - the so called sport of kings.   As for betting, I wouldn`t know how to place a bet even if I wanted to, which I don`t since my only foray into the gambling world was once to buy a lottery ticket.   I didn`t win, so that was that.   At least I was true to the family motto, `if at first you don`t succeed, give up.`

Anyway, I could not help but notice the furore going on about jockeys using the whip and the peculiar rule that apparently says that jockeys are allowed to use the whip `only` five times during the last furlong of a race.   The matter seems unresolved and it left me wondering whether the rule means that horses can be whipped unmercifully until they reach the final furlong, after which jockeys have to ease up a bit.

In all my innocence of these things, I imagine also that my conclusion might also be shrugged aside as the ignorant ranting of the ill informed.   But I did conclude that surely the way to stop the controversy is to ban the whip altogether.   Simples?