to whip or not to whip

[delfman]

this question about whipping IMO has a lot to do with perception in the eyes of the less knowledgeable. It occurred to me watching a race recently(about 2 weeks ago, I think)
...anyways, it was a distance race. can't remember if it was grass or dirt. Most likely Belmont.
so this horse jumps out to a big lead and tries to wire the field. he is getting WAY tired in deep stretch. anywho, the jockey is just hand riding the horse and here comes a horse closing on him. with the jockey whipping away like crazy. of course the horse that got whipped through the whole stretch gets up to win.
but do ya think this is the perception we want the public to see? of course they are going to think the only reason that horse won was because he was whipped.


It just looks bad in contrast to the way the other jock rode his horse.

I'm not saying to get rid of crops, but when races get run like this I think it is not good for the sport. gives it a black eye, so to say.

[Suff]

Originally Posted by delfman

with the jockey whipping away like crazy. of course the horse that got whipped through the whole stretch gets up to win.
but do ya think this is the perception we want the public to see? of course they are going to think the only reason that horse won was because he was whilpped.

I watched many races from Gulfstreams apron when it was closed to fans and the track audio off. When the horses come down the stretch it sounds like 2 or 3 packs of fire crackers going off. They're all being whipped from the 8th pole to the 16th pole. The contenders getting it inside the 16th pole.

[CheckMark]

That is why I suggest every track implement a rule to only use the 360GT for their jockeys local and shippers as it is a much softer and gentle plus it would prevent anyone from talking trash about a certain jockey whipping a horse down the stretch

Just my 2 cents