ELEVEN riders fell foul of the whip rules at Royal Ascot. Eleven riders in one week. Something is not working.

In order for a rule to work, the downside of the consequences of breaking it must be stronger than the upside of the potential advantage to be gained. It’s why the GAA introduced the black card. It’s why FIFA upgraded a ‘professional’ foul from a yellow card offence to a red card offence. The punishment has to be a sufficiently strong deterrent.