Your weekly dive into the biggest talking point in sport, featuring interviews with top stars and influential figures, plus discussion and debate around the issues that resonate beyond the field of play. BBC Sport’s Sarah Mulkerrins, Dan Roan and Nesta McGregor and their guests take you behind the headlines and tell you what’s really going on.
Your weekly dive into the biggest talking point in sport, featuring interviews with top stars and influential figures, plus discussion and debate around the issues that resonate beyond the field of play. BBC Sport’s Sarah Mulkerrins, Dan Roan and Nesta McGregor and their guests take you behind the headlines and tell you what’s really going on.
It’s one of the highlights of the racing calendar but the build-up to this year’s Cheltenham festival has been dominated by controversy over one piece of a rider’s kit: the whip.
So, are new restrictions over its use a necessary step to protect horse welfare and improve the sport’s image?
Or, are they an over-the-top reaction to a non-existent problem that’s forcing riders to reinvent their techniques at the peak of the jump racing season?
Ex Gold Cup-winning jockey Andrew Thornton argues that whip use is "not a welfare issue", while Roly Owers, the CEO of World Horse Welfare, insists that the whip should only be used for safety and training, not to encourage a horse.
Panel: Nesta McGregor, John Hunt, Andrew Thornton & Roly Owers.
Producer: Sam Sheringham