If use of a crop makes one squeamish, I have to wonder how you are a racing fan at all. Consider the life of a racehorse and all it endures. Its not exactly a natural life for them.
No one wishes to see a horse treated cruelly at all.
I don't recall seeing anyone remark about victors use of his stick that race til word came out he had been fined.
Perhaps racing should name a maximum number of times a jock can whip? That way they'd know 20 was OK, 21 isnt.
And then if a horse loses by a nostril we will have complaints about the arbitrary number of times a jock can use his crop. We will be told that the new crops are padded, and there's no reason to limit, because they aren't that bad...
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