cynicism of the BHA, new whip rule and the thrill of racing

If the BHA were truly acting on principle, it would have inflicted punishment not only on jockeys but on owners and trainers (and, really, also on punters) by disqualifying the horse.  The fact that they did not extend the penalties in this way exposes the real cynicism of the BHA whcih is simply breath-taking: the BHA knows that any other penalty might affect the finances of racing either directly or indirectly and therefore did not dare to implement rules of that sort but went for a soft target in a grotesquely unfair way.  The inevitable conclusion is that the change in rules is not truly based upon a concern for animal welfare at all and only upon the perception of cruelty to horses for which there has been no actual evidence produced other than anedotal.   The application of these new rules has now damaged racing far more than this unproven perception ever could have done. 

Presumably also, the BHA hoped these measures might encourage new people to go racing, but ironically, there is now a danger that the law of unintended consequences will operate and that those who love racing as a spectacle will in fact be driven away from it because the impact of the new rules seriously emasculates the very thing which makes racing thrilling for the racegoer - the finish of a race.   Baby/ Bathwater or what?