This video shows just how pointless, out of place, and bizarre whips are in this game: the horse is winning easily, strides from the finish and running without issue, and the jockey begins to flail the whip. In the real world, a jockey would be reprimanded for choices like this. At the very least, they should change it so that the game's default setting is whips off instead of on.
The presence of bugs, lack of content, and the emptiness of the online community alone are enough to indicate that the developers needn't have added whips, but rather should have made some improvements to the game. And if you want to talk about just the whips themselves...they contribute nothing to the immersion, they do not add anything at all to the gameplay, they are neither aesthetically nor conceptually pleasing, and are incredibly unrealistic, promoting not only senseless, illogical whipping but also glorifying a frequently misused riding aid that is already the subject of long overdue real-world scrutiny. From a realistic perspective, abruptly beginning to awkwardly thwack your horse with a stick in the final furlong hasn't ever really been considered good riding.
Love horse racing games but tired of all the work? Try Phar Lap - Horse Racing Challenge:
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