Why the Racing Post got it wrong

Why the Racing Post got it wrong
by @Redgameracer

"Why racing must ban the whip" read the headline. And the outcry was immediate and powerful from those within the sport. Jockey's, trainers and fans alike set onto the Post with gusto to condemn the headline. The article itself is actually pretty good. It's an opinion piece, well-written, and it challenges racing to think ahead. You don't have to agree with the opinion, but it doesn't read like an anti-racing piece. 

The problem lies with the inflammatory headline. It doesn't even really cover the article's premise. Instead it just adds fuel to fire of people who think racing is cruel and it the process it shoots itself in the foot. Racing people are turned away by the sensationalist headline, while the uninformed see their opinion validated. After all, if even the trade-paper thinks that racing is cruel and the whip should be banned, it must be true! 

Racing is not cruel. Jockeys and trainers and stable staff I've interacted with are real animal lovers. They form such a tight connection with their horses that it's impossible for them to be cruel to these animals. Look at the tears shed by Nicky Henderson when announcing Sprinter Sacre's retirement. That's not fake, that's real. Leighton Aspell spoke of his devastation after Many Clouds passed away. Connections do what is best by their horse. They are supremely well treated and cared for and they enjoy what they do. They are most certainly not being mistreated.

Tom Kerr says in his piece that it's almost impossible to change the perception that racing is cruel and that the whip is cruel. I refute that. It's less than 100 years ago that the perception was that women were second rate citizens not worthy of a vote. Just over fifty years since the US ended segregation because black people were perceived unworthy. Those views were strongly and widely held. But a small minority managed to open people's eyes to the reality and things changed. Perceptions change. Why shouldn't racing be able to do the same?

If it's my perception that a building is red when, in fact, it is blue, the answer is not to paint the building red...