[Arletta]

"Thoroughbred racing would be denatured if the whip were ever banned. Horses are not cognisant of the ambitions of a race, but it is part of their eternal appeal that they are mostly complicit with them. The sport depends on this because a horse’s will to win is at least as important to the essence of competition as its natural ability to run.

If the sport isn’t particularly careful, use of the whip may be demonised and its important role forever misapprehended.
This isn’t a problem specific to U.S. racing. In thrall to the ambition of winning, jockeys in many countries and jurisdictions have been guilty of injudicious use of the whip over the years. "



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