And now we go live to the racing results for February 2024:
| Galice Macalo (FR) | 07 Feb, 2024 | Sedgefield | Hit Fence – Injured Near Foreleg – Destroyed- |
| Absolute Notions (IRE) | 04 Feb, 2024 | Musselburgh NH | Broke Near-Foreleg After Jumping Hurdle – Destroyed- |
| Getagin (IRE) | 04 Feb, 2024 | Musselburgh NH | Broke Down Near Finish Line – Fatally Injured- |
| Hermes Allen (FR) | 03 Feb, 2024 | Sandown NH | Fell – Broke Neck – Dead- |
| Holmes St Georges (FR) | 03 Feb, 2024 | Musselburgh NH | Fell – Injured – Destroyed- |
| Coco Kolada (IRE) | 02 Feb, 2024 | Catterick NH | Fell – Injured – Destroyed- |
| Zettabyte (IRE) | 02 Feb, 2024 | Southwell NH | Broke Down – Destroyed- |
| Rolling River (IRE) | 02 Feb, 2024 | Catterick NH | Fell – Injured – Destroyed- |
The good news is that I am writing this blog on 19th February 2024, so there have been no fatalities for 12 days. Good news for racehorses, that is. The bad news is that in the 6188 days that Horse Death Watch has been keeping count, 2749 horses have died participating in the Sport of Kings.
I am not an expert in horse-racing, which I regard as a bizarre sport in which the main contestant, the horse, has no idea it’s even taking place in a contest. At the end of a race, the jockey, trainer and owner all celebrate with a glass of something. The horse gets shoved in a horse box, taken back to its stable until it’s racing again at some race course, where next to no one else is in attendance, and then the cycle carries on. Finally, the horse is retired and taken off to the Knacker’s Yard unless some kindly soul adopts it.
Can you imagine any other sport where such a high mortality rate would be deemed acceptable? “And now on BBC Radio Five Live, it’s time for Sports Report … Just the five players died in the Premier League today … let’s go across to speak to the winning manager Big Ron … how good was that result?” If it’s the Cheltenham Festival and three horses have died, it’s all about hundreds of thousands of pissed up Irish blokes drinking Guinness and “What a great race that was”.
Perhaps it’s that horses don’t count? They’re just animals. Completely expendable. “They’re well cared for, they eat the best horse food money can buy” and best of all “AND THEY WOULDN’T RACE IF THEY DIDN’T WANT TO”. Yes, that’s so true. And they know all the risks as they leap over fences way bigger than their bodies are designed for. They make their own decisions.
Ban horse racing? God knows. Make it safe? You can’t. Make it safer? Maybe you can do that, “BUT YOU’D LOSE THE SPECTACLE”. It’s the ultimate challenge for horses. When they reach Becher’s Brook, they leap to the sky (and when they land on the other side and their slender legs snap, bring out the guy with the big tent and the big gun).
No horse racing deaths? Don’t bet on it, although you probably could bet on it if you went to the right bookie. It’s part of the fun when you go racing, isn’t it, especially when you don’t see or hear the final shot when the wretched horse is put out of its misery. Still, there’s always another pint to drink and maybe there will be a concert after the races, too. And maybe the band Racing Cars will play. What was their biggest hit single, again? Oh yes, They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?
