The British Horseracing Authority is committed to a reduction of fatalities in the sport of horse racing. To that end they have embarked on a number of initiatives to achieve that end
I want to focus on the National Hunt. An area that once again hit the headlines with the loss of 3 horses over the weekend at Cheltenham. Two appeared to be post race heart events. I’m told these are not attacks as we understand them. Both of these took place over the chase course, in the same race. One other horse fell in the Greatwood Hurdle and died
The time of this chase event was the fastest chase of the day. It was as quick an event as I’ve seen, and I’ve verified this view with other form judges. These days it has become a rarity to see horses actually fall in horse racing, it seems to have become unacceptable, even if the sport is supposed to revolve around jumping ability, and clearly that’s what people pay to see. I observed at Cheltenham, whilst reviewing races, how horses clear fences at this premier racetrack with ease. Often several feet above the birch.
This was also readily apparent in the 2024 Grand National, where the fences have been lowered, softened and landing areas eased, to such a degree that no horse fell in the entire race. What is of most note is horses no longer bend, or arch their backs to jump. They clear fences with speed undiminished. The first fence is fairly infamous for speed based falls, as the 40/34 strong field would be at their quickest at that stage.
Whilst the BHA, under Nick Rust embarked on a programme of overall diminution of fence heights and stiffness, the fatality rate in the Grand National is currently running equal to the highest percentage rate ever. Without comment from the BHA. Since the 1960s 29 horse fatalities have occurred where ground is either good or better than good. 43 if we include good to soft. Just 5 have died in ‘heavy’ ground, and no horse fatalities were registered when ground is officially ‘soft’
Of further note, long term injuries have increased in the sport for the 4th year in a row since 2020. The lowest rate of fatalities? In 2020, when the winter was the wettest on record
With these facts in mind, is the BHA approach gaining the required results? To me their approach is centred upon optics. Where they have defined form! If we have fatalities, make the test easier has been the code
I would argue their approach focusses on the difficulty in jumping hurdles, or chases, when they should be focussed on ground, and speed. In simple terms the horses have quickened up. This is the inevitable consequence of making the obstacles easier
When the Grand National fences were at their fiercest, in the 1960s, just 2 fatalities were registered. Can the BHA explain this? Anyone who wandered around the track in the 3 or 4 decades since then, could only have been impressed by the scale of the fences. It was what people tuned in to see. The BHA’s approach in my opinion has been naive on two fronts. It increased the rapidity of racing, and it made the sport’s showcase less compelling to the viewing public, as evidenced by television audiences worldwide
This is what happens when you allow a betting executive free reign to mess about with the sport, with optics as his focus. I recall his comments on the heavy ground 4 miler at the Festival, where several horses finished notably tired and jumping became ragged. There were no fatalities in that race, but the race was identified by Rust as having ‘more fallers and horses brought down.’ Hardly surprising at Cheltenham’s longest chase event! It became clear that Nick Rust’s epitath was to nailed to his views on horse welfare. He reduced the race by a quarter of a mile and questioned the participation of the amateur riders involved.
One final point, before I leave you to discuss these points. Remember Cheltenham’s ill fated 3rd last fence? A notorious obstacle, not because it was taxing, but because it was at a critical downhill part of the track, where horses were speeding up. They tended to overjump, and collapse with fatigue on the landing side.
Make me the CEO of British Racing – I would increase the height of fences once again, and their stiffness. Force horses to slow down several times a race. I would demand tracks water more assiduously in the winter to produce soft ground. I would do everything possible to slow these impressive animals down. Speed is the killer in British Racing. Not the difficulty of the obstacles they face
Geoff Banks Online Reports 