Grand National - National Shame

Facts

Around 375 horses die on racecourses in Britain each year
51 fatalities at Aintree since 1991
5,000 horses enter the racing industry each year
6,000 horses leave the racing industry each year; there are not enough good homes for these animals
18,000 foals are bred for racing each year

2008 Grand National

During the 2008 Grand National 3 day meet three horses were killed. McKelvey was destroyed during this years big race. He came second in the Grand National last year but sustained an injury to a tendon, in this year's race he fell at the 20th fence and was shot on course. During racing on Friday 'Time to Sell' and 'In the High Grass' died after falls in the Topham Chase. The Grand National is viewed to be the most difficult race, resulting in horse fatalities almost every year.

Horse racing in a wider context

Horse racing relies on the income from betting to continue. Many people view betting on horses as 'a harmless flutter' but for the horses it is a matter of life or death. Gambling and watching racing for entertainment ensures the slaughter of hundreds of horses each year. Many people bet on the Grand National in syndicates or as the only race they will place money on during the year, but this money feeds the industry.

It is sometimes claimed that racing must be enjoyable for the horses, otherwise they simply wouldn't run. This isn't the truth; the horses run as they are pack animals and instinctively stick together. The horses will run with the herd after loosing their rider because of the frightening situation they are put into.

18,000 foals are born a year for the racing industry in Britain. Only a third of these will ever become racers. The others are deemed unsuitable and may end up killed for horse meat. Of these foals there is a very small genetic pool, in the UK and Ireland most race horses are related to Canadian Flat race legend Northern Dancer. Northern Dancer specialized in mile and a quarter length flat races, which his offspring also do well in. However, there are so many race horses bred each year, many of his ancestors are raced over much greater distances and over jumps, although his bloodline is not sufficiently robust to survive this level of difficulty.

Approximately 5,000 horses leave racing each year once they have become too old, fail to make the grade or are injured. Many of these individuals are owned by syndicates who have no interest in the horses when they are no longer able to win their owners any money. The lucky horses will end up in animal rescue centres, a few will be retrained as riding horses, the rest are killed for horse meat in this country or abroad; or neglected and abused.

Of the horses who survive their race 82% of flat race horses, older than three years of age suffer from bleeding lungs, others suffer from gastric ulcers, which are present in no fewer than 93% of horses in training, in whom the condition gets progressively worse. When horses are retired, the condition improves. Horses' heartbeats can increase tenfold during a race, from a relaxed 25 beats per minute to an excessive 250 beats, again leading to total exhaustion and collapse - and, sometimes to a potentially fatal heart attack. Horses which die after a race are simply invisible to racing supporters.

Horses which were race winners are often sold on to stud. Stallions may cover 200 mares in a 6 month breeding season and go on breeding into their twenties, often kept alone inside. Mares are kept in a constant cycle of pregnancy and hormonal injections to enable them to produce as many live foals as possible. Some of these mares have suffered significant injury on the race course which is exacerbated by their increased weight when carrying a foal.

Race horse owners and trainers try to argue that the horses have to be well kept and enjoy racing otherwise they would never run or win. This image ignores the reality of those who fail to make the grade and those who leave the racecourses each year.

Jump racing is the most dangerous form of racing, the horses used to be selectively bred for this discipline, animals who were heavier built and more robust than flat racers. However, money incentive has encouraged owners and trainers to race flat bred horses in jump races when they fail to make the grade on flat. This has increased the number of fatalities in racing overall. The racing industry is inextricably linked with the hunting industry as horses competing in fox hunter racers are required to have hunted before entering. These horses sometimes loose their lives or sustain injuries hunting, even before they are raced.

Most horses which are bred to be ridden, off the racecourse, are not backed or broken (beginning their ridden training) until they are three and a half years old. These horses' peers in the flat racing industry are, at the age of 3, racing at a high level. In fact by 5 years old most ridden horses are still considered young, vulnerable and have a lot to learn, yet on the racecourse nearly 60% of all horses are under the age of 5.

Whilst very few of us own or train racehorses, many people are responsible for the deaths and compromised welfare of race horses. Anyone who bets on races is supporting the cruelty and inbreeding. British bookmakers now generate a combined annual profit of £1 billion from horse racing, and this money demands that there are more races for punters to bet on and more horses bred to race in them. Those who attend races to see the spectacle are taking pleasure from the pain of a feeling sensitive animal. Horse owners often watch races where horses are demanded to clear obstacles which they would never ask their own animals to jump and experience situations which they know their own horses would be terrified of.

For more information please see animal aid's informative guide: Bred to Death http://www.animalaid.org.uk/h/n/CAMPAIGNS/horse/ALL/1350/