I'm sorry to hijack this thread, but I've been developing a serious distaste for the use of the whip on horses and it is a somewhat related subject.

Is there any reason we need to continue doing this?

I enjoy a great stretch drive as much as anyone and realize the whip doesn't do any serious permanent damage, but maybe we'd have slightly fewer injuries and the sport would get a better reputation among animal lovers if the races were decided by how much the horse was willing to give on his own and not because of the crack of a whip.