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RACE HORSEDEATHWATCH

Summary

Animal Aid’s Race Horse Deathwatch is aunique online record of horses killed on Britishracecourses. Animal Aid initiated the databasebecause the British Horseracing Authority (BHA)– the industry regulator charged with upholdingrace horse welfare – and Weatherby’s, which keepsbloodstock records for the industry, fail to publishnames and numbers of horses killed on Britishracecourses.During the second year of Deathwatch – runningfrom 13 March 2008 to 12 March 2009 – AnimalAid recorded 178 on-course fatalities. This is an

increase on the first year, which saw 167 deaths.For both periods, the true figure is likely to behigher. In addition, on-course fatalities representconsiderably less than the whole picture. The bestavailable evidence suggests that they signify just38%* of the total number of horses ‘raced todeath’ every year – a term also encompassinghorses who die at a later date from injuriesreceived on a racecourse, or from training injuries,or who are destroyed prematurely for commercialreasons. The total ‘raced to death’ figure is at least420 every year. Given that there are around 15,000horses in training, an annual fatality rate of 420means that one in 36 Thoroughbreds who start

RACE HORSE

DEATHWATCH

Race Horse Deaths on British Racecourses fromMarch 2008 to March 2009 An Animal Aid Report

THE SECOND YEAR

the season will be dead by the end of it.Among the many issues thrown up by thealarmingly high on-course attrition rate is thecompetence of the vets called upon to destroyinjured horses. The destruction takes place behindgreen screens to shield the public from the brutalreality. What happens behind those screens isusually carefully concealed, but a photographerrecently obtained a series of images of a vet atNewton Abbot racecourse attempting to shoota horse, known as Ashby Jo, in the head. Theunpublished photographs were passed toAnimal Aid. See page 5 for a fuller account ofwhat appeared to be a crude and roughlyhandled episode. Given that a large majorityof on-course deaths rely upon a vet’s bullet orhypodermic needle (rather than the horse dyingfrom his or her injuries), questions of suitabletraining and ongoing assessment are paramount.

* The 38% figure is derived from Animal Aid’s earlierdetailed research of deaths, both on-course andoff-course. A key report is that which focused on NationalHunt fatalities during the 1999/2000 season. Mortalitydata for Flat race horses – again both on- and off-course– was collated by Animal Aid for the 2000 Flat season.Both reports, and subsequent research, bear out the38% /62% relationship between on- and off-course deaths.

Key Findings• There were 178 horses killed on British

racecourses during the second year of RaceHorse Deathwatch, a 6.6% increase on the firstyear. This equates to one death every tworacing days (for the complete picture seeTable 1).

• Jump racing was significantly more dangerousto horses than Flat and All-Weather racing. Itaccounted for more than 75% of deaths (seeTable 2).

• If we judge the death rate of a course bylooking at the number of horses killed againstthe number of days racing staged, the mostlethal racecourse was Sandown Park –a National Hunt (NH) course – followed byCartmel (NH), Lingfield (NH) andMusselburgh (NH) (see Table 3).

• The course with the highest number of horsedeaths was Newton Abbot (NH), with a totalof eight (see Table 4).

• Chester racecourse had the worst record ofthe Flat (turf) racecourses, with two deathsfrom 14 days’ racing (see Table 5).

• Fourteen Flat racecourses (45% of all Flatcourses) had at least one death (see Table 6).

• All-Weather racing saw a notable increase indeaths – up from seven in the first year to23 in the second. Kempton Park (Polytrack)came out worst of all of the five BritishAll-Weather tracks, accounting for seven ofthe fatalities (see Table 7).

• The All-Weather Polytrack surface, in actualnumbers and percentage terms, accounted forconsiderably more deaths than the Fibresandsurface (see Table 8).

• There were four starting stall incident-relateddeaths (see Table 9).

• Fourteen horses collapsed and died, eitherduring a race or shortly after passing thefinishing line (see Table 10).

• The majority of horses who died sufferedcatastrophic injuries whilst racing, in the formof fractured limbs and spinal injuries. Theseresulted in their destruction.

• Summer jump races killed 22 horses – adramatic 47% increase on the previous year.

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IntroductionAs well as the names and details of the horseswho are killed, Animal Aid’s Race HorseDeathwatch identifies the racecourse where thedeath happened, the relevant ground and racingconditions, and the jockeys involved. Deathwatchwas initiated in mid-March 2007, at the start ofthe Cheltenham Festival. This report sets out andanalyses the key data relating to the second yearof Deathwatch – running from mid-March 2008to mid-March 2009.The findings make stark reading, not only in termsof the sheer volume of horses killed, but becauseof the way they highlight a range of strategicfailings by the regulatory body, the BHA. Theintroduction of a number of straightforward,practical measures would very quickly result in asignificant reduction in horse suffering, injuriesand death. Such measures include:

• an audit of all 60 British racecourses toidentify and speedily eliminate key hazardsfor horses

• formal intervention in the schooling methodsused for horses in order to ensure thatanimals are not dangerously ill-prepared for

races they are entered into, and to ensurealso that they are not pushed too hard (forinstance, through excessive uphill training)

• the introduction of measures to ensure thatvets charged with destroying horses injuredduring races are trained specifically for thatdifficult task and that they are periodicallyassessed

Sources of DataThe data for Race Horse Deathwatch is obtainedfrom numerous sources, including the officialracing returns, communication with racecourseofficials and trainers and reports from a networkof vigilant race-goers and members of the public,whose information has been verified.

RacecoursesThere are 60 British racecourses and 48 (80%)of these recorded at least one death. All racingdisciplines killed horses: All Weather (AW), TurfFlat and National Hunt (jumping).There was significant variation in the numberof horses killed at different racecourses.

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Newton Abbot saw the most victims, with eightdead. But other National Hunt courses – notablySandown, Cartmel, Lingfield and Musselburgh –experienced a greater attrition rate than NewtonAbbot when the number of days’ racing is takeninto account. Each saw an even higher percentageof deaths than that racked up at the most lethalcourse during the first year of Deathwatch:Sedgefield. As a result of our report on theSedgefield carnage, the British HorseracingAuthority launched an inquiry. Perhaps as aconsequence, Sedgefield’s fatality rate hasreduced significantly.All-Weather course deaths rose strikingly duringthe second year of Deathwatch, with 23 horseskilled compared with the preceding year’s tallyof seven.Fourteen Flat racecourses also saw fatalities, onemore than the first year of Deathwatch. Chestercame out the worst of all, with two horses deadfrom 14 days’ racing.

Obstacles andRacing SurfacesIt is National Hunt (jump) racing that exacts themost severe toll upon race horses (see Table 2). Bothhurdlers and chasers – novice and seasoned jumpersalike – fall victim to the obstacles they are compelledto jump at speed. Clearly, schooling methods shouldbe questioned – as should the nature of the hurdleand chase obstacles themselves. Such aninvestigation would assess the degree of difficulty ofobstacles, as well as their positioning.While some horses were killed instantly in a fall, themajority suffered injuries that were devastating butdid not kill them. These horses were usually shotbut sometimes given a lethal injection. Broken legsand pelvic injuries were common, as was spinal

damage to the neck and back that left manyhorses in a quadriplegic condition.All-Weather racing saw a dramatic increase infatalities. The relatively new right-handed Polytracksurface at Kempton Park saw seven horses ‘breakdown’ (suffer a serious injury). Britain’s newestracecourse, Great Leighs (Polytrack), saw threedeaths in its early meetings. And Wolverhamptonand Lingfield (both Polytrack) experienced ahigh level of fatalities. Southwell, Britain’s onlyFibresand track, had fewer deaths than otherAll-Weather courses, both in terms of actualnumbers killed and when the number of daysracing is taken into account.Flat racing on turf saw an increase in fatalities.Chester saw two deaths in just 14 days of racing,while Pontefract saw two deaths over 15racing days.Four horses died in starting stall related incidents.This is another aspect requiring urgent attention,both with regard to stall safety design and theprocedures used for loading horses into sucha confined space.

Horses Pushed toTheir LimitsFourteen horses collapsed and died whilst racing,or shortly after the finishing line (see Table 10).The fact that 11 of those 14 fatalities occurred inNational Hunt racing leads us to the view that theextreme demands made on jump horses places onthem an unacceptable physical toll both in terms ofdistance raced and the obstacles with which theyare confronted.

Animal Aid has selected four horses torepresent those who died in the past year.They were not the well-known ‘stars’ ofracing but the uncelebrated day-in-day-outrunners at minor meetings, whose lives weretaken behind the green screens.

Ashby JoThe circumstances surrounding the death ofseven-year-old Ashby Jo at Newton Abbot duringthe summer jump racing season prompts seriousconcerns about the training of vets charged withthe actual destruction of horses on racecourses.Animal Aid was sent a series of photographs ofAshby Jo’s killing by racecourse photographer, AlanMcNamee. The images show that the vet took holdof a loaded pistol with silencer and attempted toshoot the horse in the head. The photographerclaimed he failed three times to kill the horse,reloading with each attempt and leaving astill-conscious Ashby Jo with a bullet-hole throughhis ear (according to his trainer). The photosequence (right) further shows that one of theshots blew his noseband away and that Ashby Jo isin a highly stressed and emotional state. Theimages suggest that the horse was handled in anextremely rough manner, all the while being heldon an unsuitably long rein by a solitary assistant.This would have made control of the stressedThoroughbred more difficult. The horse was finallykilled by an injection after another vet came to assist.

BilingualAt the age of ten, when many race horses arebeing considered for possible retirement,Bilingual was to have his first and final outing on aracecourse. The event was a Hunter Chase at Kelso,a race for amateur riders, often on horses withlittle experience of competitive running. This wasthe case with Bilingual, who, before Kelso, hadbeen entered into just a handful of lower-rankingraces for the hunting fraternity, known as point-to-point. He’d been entered into just one such eventduring the five years prior to his fatal outing atKelso. Bilingual was a distant third when he fellfour fences from the finish, and was destroyed.Just four of the ten runners completed the course.One commentator described the two-and-three-quarter mile race as a ‘gruelling test’.

Commercial FlyerIf ever a race horse was exploited for financial gainthen Commercial Flyer was the prime example. In a

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The vet loads the gun...

...the bullet blows off Ashby Jo’s noseband...

...roughly handled by the vet...

...vet aims again at Ashby Jo’s head

All photos on this page © Alan McNamee

desperate race for the trainer’s title back in 2005,Commercial Flyer, then aged six, was forced to racein five events in just 12 days, three of which tookplace over three days – a likely record work rate fora jumping horse. For those final five events, he wascarted more than 1,000 miles, with long hours inthe horsebox. He was transported from Exeter,England’s most southern course, to Perth, themost northerly course in Scotland, and then downto Sandown, near London. Commercial Flyer gavehis all during those twelve days, winning four of hisfive races. However, after those exploits, he rarelycompleted a race. Eventually, he was dropped byhis leading trainer and wealthy owner and passedto a stable for whom he raced twice. CommercialFlyer perished in a three-mile chase on testing softground, at Ayr, in March 2009. He had almoststopped six fences from the end but continuedand, two fences later, fell and was destroyed.According to the Racing Post’s ‘race-reader’: ‘Onlyfour horses faced the starter but there was noshortage of mishaps and incidents.’

Deserted DaneA fashionably bred colt from the USA, DesertedDane was sold at bloodstock sales in Ireland at 18months old, and then sold on again in England sixmonths later. From his new base in Yorkshire, heshowed some promise on the racecourse – somuch so, that he was flown out to race in Dubaifor a two-month period. Returning to England, heraced consistently around northern tracks pickingup small amounts of prize-money. Then, atCatterick Bridge racecourse in the height ofsummer, he died in a starting stall incident, similarto that which cost the lives of three other horsesduring the season. Many horses are reluctant toenter the confined area of a starting stall. Putting

a blindfold hood over the head is a commonly usedtactic to trick a horse into the stall. Often this willbe combined with lots of pushing from behind toforce the reluctant animal forward. Once in thestalls, worried horses frequently rear up. Some godown on their knees. A frightened Deserted Danereared as the stall doors opened, and he sustaineda fatal injury. He was just four years old.

ConclusionA toll of 178 deaths in one year on Britishracecourses should ring alarm bells for anyoneconcerned with the welfare of animals. Most ofall, the carnage should finally rouse to action theBritish Horseracing Authority, whose regulatoryobligations includes protecting from harmthe most important asset upon which themulti-billion pound racing industry depends:the Thoroughbred horse.Deaths on racecourses have a number of causes. Inpart, they are due to the physiology of selectivelybred modern race horses and the physicaldemands made upon them. They have been bredfor speed at the cost of skeletal strength, generalrobustness and the often-problematic heart andcardiovascular system. Other factors involveintensive training methods, whereby horses areexercised too hard, resulting in breakdowns eitheron the training gallops or on a racecourse. Thepoor schooling of horses also leads to fatalities.Their tutoring can be rushed and inadequate,making them ill-prepared for competitive racing.Many deaths also occur because of the demandingcharacteristics of racecourses themselves and

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A horse panicking in the stalls –on her knees and trying to get out

Many ‘failed’ racehorsesare slaughtered

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because of detrimental ground conditions(i.e. too firm, too heavy, or uneven). Then thereare the obstacles horses are forced to jump atspeed, often having been whipped in theapproach. Some fences do not have enough ‘give’in them and, if hit, can result in rotational falls,whereby the horse somersaults and risks a fatalspinal injury. The positioning of fences can alsopresent special challenges. For example, they mightbe too close to the start or located on a downhillstretch, causing the horse to be unbalanced whenpressed to jump.When horses do suffer an injury, an issue of criticalimportance is the competence of the on-coursevets charged – when deemed appropriate – withdestroying animals. The majority of the 170-plushorses who perish each season as a result ofracecourse injuries, are killed by vets rather thandie outright from their injuries. Do thesepractitioners have judgement sound enough todecide whether a horse lives or dies? Are theyequipped with enough of the right kind of trainingso that they have what it takes to subdue animalswho are in pain, scared and probably stressed bythe crowd and by the alien raceday environment?After subduing them, are they then able swiftlyand competently to despatch doomed animalswith a gun or syringe? The images of Ashby Jobeing shot at Newton Abbot show anything buta swift and painless death. It is reasonable tosuppose that such scenes, though invariablyhidden from the public by green screens, arecommonplace.

The Failure ofRacing’s ‘Regulator’The sorry situation we lay bare in Year Two of RaceHorse Deathwatch arises from the shortcomings oftrainers, jockeys, owners, racecourse managers,clerks of the courses and veterinarians.The most culpable of all the parties, however, isthe British Horseracing Authority, which is chargedwith ensuring that horses who race in Britainunder its Rules of Racing are properly cared for.The BHA, and its predecessor bodies, have failed inthis duty. Horse deaths on racecourses areincreasing and yet the BHA has not only neglectedto produce an identifiable strategy for tackling theproblem, it refuses to acknowledge there is aproblem. In fact, it refuses even to publishstraightforward data on racecourse injuries andfatalities. This stonewalling cannot continue.Race horse welfare is moving up the news agenda.Nearly 60 MPs have already signed a parliamentarymotion demanding reform. And even leadingnewspaper racing correspondents are engaged inearnest contemplation of such issues as Thorough-bred over-production, slaughter of ‘surplus’ stockand use of the whip, as well as racecourse fatalities.Time is fast running out for the BHA. If it continuesto show an inability or unwillingness to produceremedies for the serious welfare problems thatbeset racing, then the pressure will grow forgovernment to strip it of its self-regulatoryprivileges and for the government itself to callthe industry to account.

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Discipline Nos. Dead

National Hunt 134All-Weather Flat 23Flat 21Total 178

TABLE 2 Racing Discipline in whichHorses Died and Number of Deaths

StatisticsMid-March 2008 to mid-March 2009

Total British RaceHorse Deaths

178

TABLE 1Breakdown of Deaths on British Racecourses

Flat Racing21

National HuntRacing134

All-WeatherRacing23

Polytrack21

Fibresand2

Chases55

National HuntFlat8

Hurdles71

Novice Hurdlers39

SeasonedHurdlers

32

Novice Chasers12

SeasonedChasers

43

TABLE 2 – CHART Racing Discipline in whichHorses Died and Number of Deaths

National Hunt

134Flat

21

140

120

100

80

60

40

20

0

Horseskilled

All-Weather Flat

23

Racing discipline

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National Hunt Deaths Days’ Deaths perRacecourse Racing 100 days’ Racing

Sandown Park* 7 9 77.8Cartmel 4 6 66.7Lingfield Park 2 3 66.7Musselburgh 5 8 62.5Perth 6 12 50Newton Abbot 8 17 47.1Aintree 4 9 44.4Worcester 6 14 42.9Hereford 4 10 40Ludlow 5 13 38.5Doncaster 3 8 37.5Huntingdon 6 16 37.5Southwell 4 11 36.4Haydock Park 2 6 33.3Newcastle 3 9 33.3Sedgefield 5 16 31.3Kelso 3 10 30Market Rasen 5 17 29.4Cheltenham 4 14 28.6Plumpton 4 14 28.6Ayr 3 11 27.3Newbury 3 11 27.3Uttoxeter 6 22 27.3Stratford-on-Avon 4 15 26.7Wincanton 4 17 23.5Carlisle 2 9 22.2Fakenham 2 9 22.2Towcester 4 18 22.2Wetherby 3 16 18.8Taunton 2 13 15.4Bangor-on-Dee 2 14 14.3Catterick Bridge 1 7 14.3Leicester 1 7 14.3Fontwell Park 3 22 13.6Folkestone 1 8 12.5Kempton Park 1 11 9.1Chepstow 1 14 7.1Exeter 1 14 7.1Ascot 0 8 0Hexham 0 13 0Warwick 0 6 0

Total 134 487 27.5*including Mixed-Meeting of NH and Flat

TABLE 3National Hunt Racing: Deaths in Relation to Number ofDays’ Racing at each Course

National Hunt DeathsRacecourse

Newton Abbot 8Sandown Park* 7Huntingdon 6Perth 6Uttoxeter 6Worcester 6Musselburgh 5Ludlow 5Market Rasen 5Sedgefield 5Aintree 4Cartmel 4Cheltenham 4Hereford 4Plumpton 4Southwell 4Stratford-on-Avon 4Towcester 4Wincanton 4Ayr 3Doncaster 3Fontwell Park 3Kelso 3Newbury 3Newcastle 3Wetherby 3Bangor-on-Dee 2Carlisle 2Fakenham 2Haydock Park 2Lingfield Park 2Taunton 2Catterick Bridge 1Chepstow 1Exeter 1Folkestone 1Kempton Park 1Leicester 1Ascot 0Hexham 0Warwick 0

Total 134*including Mixed-Meeting of NH and Flat

TABLE 4 Number ofDeaths at each NationalHunt Racecourse

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Flat Deaths Days’ Deaths perRacecourse Racing 100 days’ Racing

Chester 2 14 14.3Pontefract 2 15 13.3Ascot 2 17 11.8Catterick Bridge 2 17 11.8Chepstow 1 19 11.1Sandown Park 2 20 10Windsor 2 26 7.7Warwick 1 14 7.1Folkestone 1 15 6.7Newmarket 2 38 5.3Bath 1 20 5Leicester 1 20 5Doncaster 1 23 4.3Great Yarmouth 1 23 4.3Epsom 0 2 0Southwell 0 3 0Carlisle 0 7 0Lingfield Park* 0 11 0York 0 11 0Newcastle 0 12 0Thirsk 0 13 0Ayr 0 14 0Ripon 0 15 0Salisbury 0 16 0Musselburgh 0 17 0Redcar 0 17 0Hamilton Park 0 18 0Newbury 0 19 0Nottingham 0 19 0Beverley 0 20 0Brighton 0 21 0Haydock Park 0 21 0Goodwood 0 22 0

Total 21 549 3.8*run in conjunction with All-Weather meetings

TABLE 5Flat Racing: Deaths in Relation to Number of Days’Racing at each Course

Flat DeathsRacecourse

Ascot 2Catterick Bridge 2Chester 2Newmarket 2Pontefract 2Sandown Park 2Windsor 2Bath 1Chepstow 1Doncaster 1Folkestone 1Great Yarmouth 1Leicester 1Warwick 1

Total 21

TABLE 6Number of Deaths ateach Flat Racecourse

All-Weather Deaths Days’ Deaths perRacecourse Racing 100 days’ Racing

Kempton Park 7 80 8.8Lingfield Park* 5 77 6.5Wolverhampton 6 92 6.5Great Leighs 3 48 6.3Southwell 2 63 3.2

Total 23 360 6.4*run in conjunction with Flat turf meetings

TABLE 7All-Weather Racing: Deaths in Relation to Number ofDays’ Racing at each Course

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All-Weather Deaths Days’ Deaths perSurface Racing 100 days’ Racing

Polytrack 21 297 7.1Fibresand 2 63 3.2

TABLE 8Deaths on both All-Weather Racing Surfaces in Relationto Number of Days’ Racing

TABLE 9Starting Stall Incident-Related Horse Deaths: 4

Race Horses who Nos.Collapsed and Died Dead

National Hunt 11All-Weather Flat 2Flat 1

Total 14

TABLE 10Racing Discipline in whichHorses Collapsed and Died

Animal Aid, The Old Chapel, Bradford Street,Tonbridge, Kent, TN9 1AWEmail: info@animalaid.org.uk www.animalaid.org.uk