BHA silence is deafening and damaging as storm whips up

HERE’S a racing riddle. When is a whip not a whip? When it’s a ProCush, of course!

Yes, it’s the latest topic that has plunged the sport into another self-made crisis. Once the debate about the updated whip rules threatened to subside, the last race at Newbury yesterday was chalked off because there were ZERO runners due to a boycott from trainers over the measly prizemoney on offer.

Mercifully for the racing authorities, the imminent white paper on gambling reform has been kicked into the long grass, yet again, until the autumn as the nation waits for a new Prime Minister to be appointed. It’s not just the nation that’s desperate for some strong, decisive leadership. British racing needs it, too.

Too often they’ve been asleep at the wheel over problems that have slowly mounted than actively doing something about dreadfully small field sizes, restricted punters, dismal prize money and next-to-no value for money at a racecourse experience.

Soon, this anger will turn into apathy. Because if the British Horseracing Authority would rather dither and pander to people who, let’s be brutally honest here, ultimately want the sport banned then why should trainers, jockeys, bookies and punters alike be the ones to stand up for racing when a litany of internal problems are being ignored?

The whip is safer than it ever was, it’s padded and doesn’t hurt a horse. Look, I’ve had one whipped on the palm of my hand and it didn’t cause any pain. But because it looks bad then jockeys can only adopt a backhand instead of a forehand position. Seven strikes on the Flat and eight over jumps, plus if you go four over the limit then it is automatic disqualification.

The new rule isn’t necessarily the issue, it’s how the BHA got there. Is it on welfare grounds or perception? From the initial reaction, it seems to be the later.

Regular racegoers and watchers have been consistently told that the new padded whip doesn’t hurt horses and it’s safe. The recent change in rhetoric and calling a whip anything but a whip suggests the industry has something to hide.

It’s all unclear and that’s because the BHA can’t deliver a clear message on an important but divisive issue. The racing authority has 51 different industry partners to work with and that’s a lot to keep happy but different factions of the sport are being further splintered and problems keep building on every front.

Someone from racing’s leading authority has to stand up, be honest and take strong action as confidence in this product continues to slowly drain away.