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Horse racing: Why this so-called S****t of Kings makes me sick to my
stomach
By LIZ JONES -
I am at Aintree for my first Grand National, the spectacle millions of
people around the world are watching, the ultimate showcase of British
racing, and I am wading through a sea of empty plastic beer bottles.
On the approach to the course, I had already seen dozens of young men
who, caught short, had been disgorged from their minibuses and were
openly urinating by the side of the motorway.
Now, I am surrounded by red-faced young women, dressed to the nines,
clutching plastic ice buckets containing bottles of champagne.
By the end of the day, they are being hoisted on to their boyfriends'
backs, barely conscious, with vomit down their ridiculously
over-tanned cleavages.
Calling for compassion: Liz Jones at Aintree, where she was watched
carefully by security guards because, she says, she was with an Animal
Aid member
Having fought my way to the Red Rum bar to buy some water, I find
there is none on offer, and nothing to eat either, merely booze, booze
and more booze.
Which shouldn't come as a surprise, I suppose, given the Grand
National's sponsor****p by John Smith's beer: the more inebriated the
punters, the more cash they will wager.
But what shocks me most is the disrespect given by this horrible mob
to the horses in a day of s****t I can liken only to bear-baiting or
dog-fighting.
By close of play one horse would be dead, many more injured, and I
would, literally, be made sick to my stomach at the spectacle of this
so-called S****t of Kings.
I had arrived at the course with Dene Stansall of Animal Aid, a
perfectly respectable registered campaigning organisation that has
lobbied for many years for racing to be made more humane.
I noticed lots of security guards and policemen suddenly whispering
into their radios and, before we had even gone through the turnstiles,
Dene was told he would not be allowed entry.
This wasn't entirely unexpected.
At the previous day's meet when two horses - In The High Grass and
Time To Sell - had been killed in a race even the BBC commentator
described as "headless", meaning it was run at a reckless pace, Dene
and his 14-year-old daughter, Scarlett, had their arms twisted behind
their backs and were marched off the course.
Scarlett was bruised and badly shaken, and is currently instigating
legal action.
I start to wonder what the racing industry is trying desperately to
hide.
Because I had turned up with an animal rights activist, I am closely
watched throughout the day, and at one point marched from my vigil by
the Chair, the notorious 15th fence with its yawning 6ft ditch, and
told to stay in the Press room.
Managing to shake off security, I later stand within view of fence
number 21, just in time to see the 40 runners in the 2008 Grand
National set off.
Whenever a horse falls, turning cartwheels, cra****ng on to its neck -
and it happens often, only 15 horses will complete the course - the
crowd around me cheers.
One riderless horse starts galloping the wrong way, and the crowd
around me begins to jeer it.
And then the inevitable happens. Nine-year-old McKelvey, perhaps the
most famous horse in the race because of a recent BBC documentary
about his long, slow recovery from an injury sustained in last year's
National, unseats his rider on the second circuit at the 20th fence.
He continues riderless then, terrified, he rears and falls backwards.
It is sickening to see him go down, flailing, unable to get up, eyes
wild, but what is worse is that the people around me are laughing at
him.
A horse ambulance is on the scene in seconds, he is diagnosed with a
broken back, a screen goes up and he is destroyed on the spot.
The fatality barely warranted a mention on the Radio 4 news.
Even more shameful was the way BBC2 glossed over it. As Andrew Tyler,
director of Animal Aid, told me later: "The BBC routinely plays down
the death and suffering of thoroughbreds.
"It has spent months promoting the supposedly heroic journey of
McKelvey. Now he is dead - and predictably so. Let the BBC cover that,
not as a tragic accident but as a cynical sacrifice with which it is
complicit."
Was McKelvey's death preventable?
I tried to speak to his trainer, Peter Bowen, but he has yet to call
me back.
Although in a statement, Bowen stressed the horse was "100 per cent
fit", I found out that McKelvey had competed in only two hurdle races
since his injury last year, in which he had shown no ability.
And since Bowen stated how "Muckers" was adored by everyone on the
yard, I wonder that he was put at such risk.
This is the strange dichotomy of those who work in racing.
They claim to love their horses - so many I spoke to, including the
trainers of the two horses that died last week, referred to the
animals as "pets" - but still they allow them to risk breaking their
necks in front of thousands of jeering drunks, and to be whipped up to
20 times in one race while clearly exhausted, all to feed the
extremely lucrative racing and betting industries that put very little
store in the welfare of these amazing, graceful animals.
Inevitable tragedy: McKelvey falls at the 20th and although he tries
to recover, his back is broken. He was later shot
Including the fatalities last weekend, a staggering 38 horses have
died at Aintree since 1997.
Since March last year, 180 horses have died on British racecourses.
One in 35 British thoroughbreds that start a season will be dead by
the end of it.
The most lethal racecourse last year was Sedgefield, County Durham,
where 11 horses died in 17 days of racing.
Eighty-five per cent of deaths occur on National Hunt courses,
although flat-racing has its critics: as one equine physiotherapist
explained: "Backing horses at the age of two is a complete and utter
abomination.
"Not only are they still babies - foals are often weaned far too early
- but their skeleton is immature ... which means putting a rider on
their back causes pain and predisposes them to physical problems, such
as arthritis, later in life."
The biggest misconception I have found among the public is that "the
horses love it". That is why they continue to race, even when they
have lost their jockey.
But that is patently nonsense. Horses are herd animals, and will run
to keep up with the herd when frightened.
They would not naturally jump the likes of Becher's Brook:
thoroughbreds are intelligent animals and do not have a death wish.
So many people in the industry told me how the horses "love to do
their job".
Well, did Little Brick love his job before he was killed at the 2007
Cheltenham Festival?
He was in an overcrowded three-mile-plus race after a 490-day lay-off
and had never been tested on such a difficult course.
Or how about Earl Compton, who had been raced five times in 17 days
before he broke a leg at the Southwell course in Nottingham****re?
Or Lochanee, who died at Sedgefield last November? He had struggled in
six previous races and was a complete no-hoper when he had to jump 16
fences over two-and-a-half miles.
He tried really hard to keep up, then simply collapsed and died.
Another horse, 11-year-old Priests Bridge, died after being forced to
race having given birth. She was so exhausted she fell and broke her
neck.
Some mares are even raced while in foal.
The second big misconception is that the horses are incredibly well
cared for.
I agree that, looking at the horses at Aintree, they seemed in the
peak of health, immaculately groomed and polished.
But when you visit a racing yard, which can have more than 100 horses
in training, you will rarely see one turned out in a field: they are
far too valuable to risk getting kicked.
So each is kept in its stable for 23 hours a day, only allowed out for
its allotted hour of intensive exercise.
One groom told me: "There is a horse here on my yard that has been
kept in his stable for eight years.
"He is never turned out because he is a stallion, which means he would
fight, and because of an injury, he can't be raced.
"He is too bonkers to be rehomed, so I imagine he will soon be shot."
Simon Earle, who runs a racing yard in Wilt****re, believes there is a
more natural way of training horses.
He found that 90 per cent of horses were sustaining injuries, so he
set about finding out why.
"The problem is that if a horse is kept in for 23 hours a day, its
circulation is bad, which promotes injury.
"Racehorses are fed high-energy food, which means not only are ulcers
rife, but that when you exercise or race him his eyes will be popping
out of his head, and riders will be unable to control him and will
fall off.
"I turn my horses out in herds, which allows them to forage and to let
off steam and play, and consequently I have only two jockeys fall off
a year, in training or in competition."
Half the horses on his yard race without shoes or racing "plates",
which are responsible for the majority of tendon injuries when poorly
fitted.
He believes, too, there is still "massive misuse of the whip".
But the biggest tragedy of all is not the horses which die on the
course, but those that leave racing, either through old age or injury:
6,000 simply disappear from the s****t every year, and there is no
system to keep track of them.
Weatherbys, the industry's record-keeper, issues mandatory pass****ts
for all racehorses, but this is merely to curb disease.
There are also simply too many horses. About 18,000 foals are born
into the British and Irish racing industries each year, yet only
around 40 per cent go on to race.
Those that do not make the grade are routinely slaughtered.
For a multi-million-pound business, there are very few safety nets in
place.
There are two retraining centres, Moorcroft and Heros, and two rescue
centres: the Thoroughbred Rehabilitation Centre in Lanca****re, and
Greatwood in Wilt****re, which was founded by the redoubtable Helen
Yeadon.
At Greatwood I was stunned to see, among the 54 immaculate rescued
horses at the spotless stables, so many former stars of racing that
have fallen by the wayside.
High And Mighty, a former winner at Royal Ascot and Glorious Goodwood,
was found by Helen badly emaciated and covered in rain scald.
Another horse, which had been round Cheltenham, was found in a scrap
yard without a rug or even any food.
Helen told me she is now so overcrowded she can only put at-risk
horses on a waiting list.
Greatwood receives a levy from every bet, and although the amount is
small - of the £500,000-a-year cost of running Greatwood, just £70,000
comes from levies and donations from those in the industry - Helen is
understandably reticent about criticising racing.
She would say only: "I believe most trainers and owners, most lads and
lasses, love their horses, and they do try to find them a good home.
"It is more often that the person who takes them on cannot cope, so
the horse enters a downward spiral."
I came across just such a horse last year. She was six years old, had
an amazing flat-racing record, but something had gone wrong and she
had been left in a rutted field for a year, spending the winter
without any feed or even a rug.
Her hooves had split, becoming so painful and infected she could
barely walk.
I took her on, bought some stables, some land and the best natural
feed I could find.
And while she still has problems - she hates men, and farriers in
particular - she has proved to be an intelligent, loving, gentle
little horse.
But not everyone has the resources to spend on rescuing just one
horse, which is why the Horserace Betting Levy Board, racing's funding
body, should be forced to plough more money back into animal welfare.
At the moment it takes 10 per cent of bookmakers' gross profits to
channel into the industry: scandalously, of the £90 million levy
imposed in 2006/07, just £56,000 was donated to racehorse
rehabilitation.
I am not calling for a ban on racing, but for the British Horseracing
Authority to enforce tighter regulations to ensure horses are not
being over-bred, over-raced or over-faced (of the deaths on courses in
the past year, 47 horses had no qualification in the discipline in
which they were racing).
Numbers in the field need to be limited: overcrowding was surely a
contributing factor in the race at Aintree in which the two horses
died.
A new licensing system needs to be put in place, too, to ensure that
anyone who takes on a thoroughbred-has the necessary know-how, and
sufficiently deep pockets.
My visit to Greatwood made me think the parade of former Grand
National winners before the big race last week was a blatant
propaganda exercise, especially when I learned from Helen that 1984's
winner, Hallo Dandy, had been found in a field in "a dreadful state".
She agreed that racegoers often have no interest in, or compassion
for, the horses.
"We often stand outside meets shaking buckets to raise money, and you
would not believe the abuse we get from racegoers," she said.
"They will often say, why not put the horse in a can of dog meat when
he's gone past the post? It really is disgusting."
*************
Thank you for writing this article. Its a tragedy that horses are used
and abused and cast aside in such a way. I took one on that had earned
60,000 pounds in winnings - he was due to be shot because of a tendon
injury. I had to pay them meat money (£400) to buy him. He was an
utterly lovely boy and is now ridden and has a new life and career
with a lovely owner - after a long period of rest. They don't deserve
to be treated in such a way - its disgusting.
- Cr, Staffs
Well done for your compassion Liz. You are a very brave lady and speak
the TRUTH. It is only the ignorant, immoral, callous lowlifes (no
matter how much money they have) that will abuse you and respectable
organisations like Animal Aid.
There is simply too much money in racing. But this article will be
sent to everyone we know, and we urge everyone else to do the same. It
is about time the public knew the FACTS.
- Glander Family, E Anglia
Bravo Liz Jones, the campaigners and those refuges taking in these
magnificent, horribly abused creatures. Someone has to hold the
British Horseracing Authority to account and force them and the owners
to back up their claims to care for the animals who give them their
very comfortable livelihoods with real action. What about the Daily
Mail starting a campaign to force them to do so? I'd definitely take
part.
- Ruth, Glasgow, Scotland
Excellent article.
First time I've actually seen this written down.
We have banned cock-fighting, bear baiting and dog pits and now the
appalling level of animal mortality in horse racing must at least
warrant a full in-depth enquiry conducted by qualified personnel.
- Fifthbridge, Nuneaton Warks
About time someone got around to writing this article, You are very
brave. So very very sad.
- Bryan, Spain
Oh, I have been in the one of the yards of a very famous trainer and
seen the conditions that the horses were kept in which broke my heart
and I have also seen the horses when they are no good for racing or
when they are injured. I had a friend who rescued three racing mares,
all in foal. Racing is a cruel s****t there is no doubt about it and my
hat comes off to Simon Earle who is at least trying to change things.
It is an unnatural life for a horse. The problem is that there is so
much money involved in the s****t that it will be very hard to change
things. The same goes for greyhound racing. Huge changes need to be
made there too. When you exploit animals for money, the welfare of
those animals is secondary to the money they can make.
- Bren, Victoria Canada (ex UK)
Horses are such majestic creatures and to hear of them being hurt like
this makes me sick. However, some of these horses are treated very
well. Remember the case of Barbaro. Everything was done to try to save
his life. I have to agree with the author, though, as horse racing,
dog racing, and any s****t that uses animals should be banned. They
don't have a choice of whether to participate or not.
- Cristina, Florida, USA
Many years ago I realised how cruel this 's****t' is and have boycotted
anything to do with it since. I hope there will be lots more adverse
publicity and that it will eventually be banned. Sadly I don't think
it will happen in my lifetime.
- Irene, Manchester UK
The treatment of these fine animals is utterly sickening. Racing in
its present form should be banned and, as an alternative, horses
should be allowed to run without jockeys; freely, as nature intended.
The industry is driven purely by human greed and attended by the
morons whose ignorance shames this nation.
- Lj, London, UK
I totally agree. As an avid animal lover and I plan to rescue horses
in the near future, this is totally disgusting. And I have been told
by people in the Equine industry that horses "love" to race and be
ridden, but do they like being whipped and abused and neglected after
a life of dutiful service to you? I have yet to see the same level of
abuse at American race tracks (the ones I attended), but there are
just as many abandoned horses. It is very expensive in the US to keep
a horse in tip top racing shape and most owners here will not risk
permanently injuring their horse and forcing them to race. It is my
experience that a lot of horses are "scratched" from the race minutes
before the race begins because of reservations held by
owners/trainers. I am glad for this after reading Liz Jones's article.
God job Liz for exposing this.
- Jo, Los Angeles, USA
I am totally with Liz on this one. Most people involved in horse
racing just care about the money and the welfare of the animals
doesn't particularly concern them. Horses are gentle, intelligent
animals who deserve so much better. Good on Liz Jones for writing this
article.
- Diana, Staffs
"I am not calling for a ban but for the British Horseracing Authority
to enforce tighter regulations to ensure horses are not being
over-bred, over-raced or over-faced (of the deaths on courses in the
past year, 47 horses had no qualification in the discipline in which
they were racing)." This says it all and the same goes for the
horrific crisis in eventing!
- Felicity, USA
Well done Liz - you have written exactly what I have been saying for
years. I HATE National Hunt Racing - and Aintree in particular - it's
a cruel and wicked s****t that kills beautiful animals. Thank you for
speaking out. And bless you for rescuing your horse...
- Anne Smith, Lot-et-Garonne, France
A superb and passionate piece of journalism. Congratulations to Liz
Jones and the Daily Mail for running it.
- Courtstown, France
It sickens me to see horses fall in races. Worse, I have heard
commentators say that a race was "run without serious injury" when at
least one horse had to be destroyed. Proper re****ting would
acknowledge injuries to both the jockeys and the horses. There would
be no racing without both.
- Patricia, Trinidad
Bravo Liz Jones, the campaigners and those refuges taking in these
magnificent, horribly abused creatures. Someone has to hold the
British Horseracing Authority to account and force them and the owners
to back up their claims to care for the animals who give them their
very comfortable livelihoods with real action. What about the Daily
Mail starting a campaign to force them to do so? I'd definitely take
part.
- Ruth, Glasgow, Scotland
Well done for your compassion Liz. You are a very brave lady and speak
the TRUTH. It is only the ignorant, immoral, callous lowlifes (no
matter how much money they have) that will abuse you and respectable
organisations like Animal Aid.
There is simply too much money in racing. But this article will be
sent to everyone we know, and we urge everyone else to do the same. It
is about time the public knew the FACTS.
- Glander Family, E Anglia
Thank you for writing this article. Its a tragedy that horses are used
and abused and cast aside in such a way. I took one on that had earned
60,000 pounds in winnings - he was due to be shot because of a tendon
injury. I had to pay them meat money (£400) to buy him. He was an
utterly lovely boy and is now ridden and has a new life and career
with a lovely owner - after a long period of rest. They don't deserve
to be treated in such a way - its disgusting.
- Cr, Staffs
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