Bravo,Mirko - at long last someone has the integrity,intelligence,and guts,to take a stand,and tell it as it is!
I have long found it disturbing that so many people,even some who purport to be animal lovers,can take such pleasure in seeing animals being made to suffer like this,in the name of "sport!"
What hope,then, for victims of the live animal export industry,sow stalls,intensive egg production,etc.?
I'm sure everyone is familiar with the famous quote from Gandhi....
where does that place us as a society?

Excellent thankyou! we need more voices of reason. there is an excellent group here in melbourne called Hands & Heels made up of seasoned racing officials and horsemen. Thir sole purpose is to work toward the complete phasing out of the use of the whip in racing and they desperately need public support. The more people that speak out against the use of the whip and request Racing Victoria to change it's policies, the more likely it will become. Hands & Heels run regular riding competitions at race meetings through out the year and they reward jockeys for their riding skill alone. please visit www.handsandheels.com.au
thanks and keep up the great work

I remember in the UK, the first horserace of the flat season was an apprentice race. The apprentices where not allowed to carry a whip in the race.

A prominent racehorse trainer to the Queen, said that the use of the whip does not give adavantage in a race. He also said that the apprentices in his stable were never allowed to use the whip at anytime.