The retired BBC commentator Sir Peter O'Sullevan is a legendary figure within racing. As an owner he has owned such horses as Be Friendly and Attivo and remains passionately in love with the game. He is also vehemently against jockeys using whips excessively but accepts that they are an essential tool in a jockey's armoury.
"A whip is an essential part of a horseman's equipment but I believe they should be used to encourage and motivate, not chastise. Those of us who believe that are not what is called in Britain bleeding hearts but we realise that restricting the use of the whip is absolutely essential for the future of racing.
"The general public as a whole view as unseemly the apparent willingness of jockeys to achieve victory at all costs.
"In fact, excessive use of the whip is unattractive and unproductive. Punters would be much better off realising that horses who suffer pain often go the other way and turn into dogs.
"I've been an owner for 60 years and I always ask my jockeys to please not apply the whip more than three times. One strike to let the horse know the race is getting serious, one for further motivation and another one if the rider thinks the horse is not doing what he thinks he should be doing.
"Recently I ran a horse on the all-weather and the jockey told me he would have won if he had given the horse one more slap but I was delighted that he carried out his instructions.
"I admire jockeys tremendously but with the whip I think they are often inwardly psyching themselves up. It's their own adrenalin that makes them use it. It's not an operation to get the horse to go faster but the jockeys are anxious to appear to be giving a horse what is called "a ride." In fact, the better the horseman, the less the whip is used.
"I remember the American jockey Bill Shoemaker winning a photo finish in Chicago once and he did no more than breathe on the horse. Afterwards he told me that he believed more horses are whipped out of the money rather than into it.
"What can never be forgotten in any of this is that the horse should always be the first consideration. I am incensed by betting-shop punters who complain when they lose that the do-gooders have robbed them of their rights. They are just looking for excuses for having done their money.
"Jockeys love horses. It's their living, their livelihood and they are a lot closer to them than a mere commentator and journalist but that cannot be an excuse for using the whip excessively. There is no point making a rule and not implementing it. The stewards have no option.
"We need to change attitudes to the whip. John Reid, for instance, will tell you that the limitations of its use and the awareness of the damage it can do to racing's PR has made jockeys ride better. I believe he is correct."
