Crack That ProCush: Has the BHA Gone Woke?

The Cesarewitch Handicap. Once a glorious celebration of hooves, hay, and horseplay, where fortunes were made and lost with the crack of a ProCush—formerly known as a whip, back when words weren’t a legal minefield. But now? Now it’s just another tale of disqualification over a jockey daring to tap their horse too many times. Four extra strokes? You’d think they were caught administering electroshock therapy the way the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) reacted.

But here we are, in the brave new world of horse racing, where even counting to six apparently requires four days of intense deliberation by the BHA stewards. And why the delay? Well, if you ask me, it’s because they’ve got too many plates spinning. Between counting ProCush strikes and ensuring no one’s hurt by the pronoun declaration form you filled out at the racecourse gates, it’s a wonder they have time for the races at all.

Yes, that’s right. The BHA, under its new leadership, has become the kind of place where you half expect to be asked, "Could you confirm your pronoun before you mount?" Because, let’s face it, ensuring no one’s misgendered is obviously of paramount importance to the success of British horseracing. Horse? Mare? Gelding? Oh, I’m sorry, we mustn't assume. In this progressive age, even the horses could have a different self-identification by the end of the day.

ProCush Pandemonium: A Bureaucratic Farce

Let’s talk about the real issue, though: the ProCush rules. These regulations, introduced in 2023, were supposedly brought in to improve the sport’s image and protect horse welfare. Six strikes in Flat races, seven in National Hunt events—easy enough, right? Except, of course, when the rules are so convoluted that it takes the BHA nearly a week to decide if someone’s broken them. Alphonse Le Grande’s rider was eventually disqualified four days after the race because, apparently, counting beyond six in the heat of the moment requires not only a slow-motion replay but a full investigation worthy of True Detective.

I mean, imagine the scene: BHA officials in a dark room, eyes glued to the footage, replaying it again and again. “Was that the sixth or seventh strike? Quick, someone bring out the abacus!” And four days later, they finally emerge, bleary-eyed, with the verdict. Guilty. It’s enough to make you think they should invest in some primary school maths textbooks alongside all those ProCush guidelines.

But that’s where the BHA is right now—bogged down in rules and regs, obsessed with how many times a jockey dares to give their horse a little extra encouragement. This isn’t a sport anymore; it’s an exercise in risk management, where riders are more concerned about keeping their strike count in check than winning the race. Former jockey Freddy Tylicki called the rules “ridiculous,” and he’s not wrong. Ralph Beckett, one of the most prominent trainers, also pointed out that the BHA’s obsession with these technicalities is aimed more at people who “will never set foot near a racecourse” than the fans who love the sport.

Has the BHA Gone Woke?

Which brings us to the million-pound question: Has the BHA gone woke? In a word—yes. And they’ve gone at it with the enthusiasm of a fresh graduate from a gender studies programme, convinced that the path to salvation for British horseracing lies in prioritising public perception over everything else. Julie Harrington, the BHA’s Chief Executive, seems more interested in ensuring no one's offended by a ProCush tap (or a casual assumption of gender, for that matter) than in actually maintaining the integrity and excitement of the sport.

The BHA has become the sort of place where you half expect every meeting to begin with a round of “My name is Julie, and my pronouns are she/her, and today we’re going to review how many times a jockey can pat a horse without causing Twitter outrage.” Because let’s face it, this isn’t about horse welfare anymore—it’s about appeasing an increasingly disconnected demographic that doesn’t even care about the sport. These are the people who wouldn’t know a gelding from an entire, yet somehow they’ve been placed at the centre of the BHA’s decision-making process.

While the BHA ties itself in knots trying to impress the latte-sipping, woke warriors who are more interested in banning everything from animal racing to fossil fuels, the real fans—the ones who actually attend the races—are left wondering what on earth happened to their sport. The male, pale, and slightly stale crowd who prop up British horseracing are being abandoned in favour of imaginary fans who’ll never set foot on a racecourse but will happily sign an online petition demanding the abolition of the ProCush because they saw a sad-looking horse on YouTube once.

The Public Perception Trap

Harrington is convinced that public perception is the hill horse racing needs to die on. She believes the future of the sport depends on how it’s viewed by the broader public, particularly younger audiences. The latest polling data—because the BHA seems to think they’re running a political campaign rather than a sport—shows that 39% of adults are put off by concerns about horse welfare, and 42% claim they’ve either stopped engaging with racing or plan to in the future. And, wouldn’t you know it, the loudest objections come from that ever-vocal 18-34 age group, who seem to think horse racing is a relic of the Victorian era—one step removed from the horrors of the Industrial Revolution.

But let’s get real here. Are we honestly supposed to believe that these people will suddenly flock to the racecourses if we limit the ProCush to six strikes? Of course not. These are the same folk who see any form of competitive sport as inherently cruel and outdated. They’ll never be at Cheltenham with a pint in hand, watching a horse fly down the final stretch, because their Saturdays are already booked with protests and organic farming workshops. Julie Harrington is chasing the approval of people who not only don’t care about racing, but will never care about racing.

Meanwhile, the fans who do turn up, year in and year out, are being ignored. Racing’s core demographic—the male, pale, slightly stale crowd—isn’t interested in the BHA’s desperate attempt to appease the quinoa-quaffing, avocado-toast demographic. What they want is the thrill of the race, the speed, the skill of the jockeys, and, yes, the crack of the ProCush as the horses charge toward victory. They don’t need focus groups and PR campaigns telling them how to enjoy their sport—they already know.

Male, Pale, and Slightly Stale—But Still Paying the Bills

And therein lies the rub. The BHA is alienating the very people who keep the sport alive. You know, the ones who actually place bets, attend the races, and invest their time and money in the industry. Instead of focusing on these loyal fans—the male, pale, and slightly stale brigade—the BHA has gone down a rabbit hole of woke nonsense, convinced that if they just tweak the ProCush rules one more time, they’ll win the hearts and minds of a crowd that has never, and will never, set foot on a racecourse.

Meanwhile, attendances have dropped since the ProCush regulations were introduced. The sport’s traditional fans are voting with their feet—and their wallets. What they see is a sport that’s been sanitised and over-regulated to the point of absurdity. The BHA is so caught up in playing to the imaginary crowd of socially-conscious hipsters that they’ve forgotten about the real people propping up the grandstands.

The Final Furlong: Woke and Whipped

So, has the BHA gone woke? Absolutely. In fact, they’ve gone so woke they’ve forgotten what they’re actually running—a sport, not a sociology seminar. By obsessing over how racing is perceived by people who will never engage with it, the BHA is running the risk of killing off the very thing they’re trying to save.

If Julie Harrington and her team don’t wake up and smell the betting slips soon, they’ll find themselves with a sport that pleases no one—neither the actual fans nor the imaginary ones they’re so desperate to impress. The ProCush, once a simple tool, has become a symbol of racing’s broader identity crisis. If they keep going down this woke road, horse racing might end up becoming as dull and tedious as the four-day investigation required to count a few extra taps. And, let’s face it, nobody’s betting on that race.