Whipping Up A Storm

I guess it was always going to cause controversy but to have a jockey of the standing of Richard Hughes handing in his riding licence midway through the card at Kempton on Thursday evening shows what a shambles the new whip rules are.
Hughes copped for an escalated ten day ban following what was judged to be his second offence in the last 12 months, actually four days, and is the first rider to have fallen foul of the new whip rules for the second time since their implementation. The ban means jockey would have missed the lucrative Breeders Cup meeting next month.
The rules limit jockeys to seven whip strikes during a race - five in the last furlong - on the Flat and Hughes has stated ‘the rule is seven and I've struck my horse six times on both occasions and I've been given 15 days for it.’
Whilst watching the racing this afternoon try and count the times each horse is hit - the Stewards have a thankless task and Jockeys an almost impossible one.
Nobody wants to see horses hit excessively but if one of the best jockeys in the world is struggling with the rules and feels he has to hand in his licence there is obviously a massive problem that must be dealt with as soon as possible.