Animal Aid calls for an inquiry into horse deaths at Lingfield Racecourse

The latest two victims, Yorkee Mo Sabee and Secret Strategy, lost their lives on 20 January in the very same race. The former broke a pastern bone in his foreleg and the hoof was seen hanging off, whilst the distressed horse continued to try to run. The latter finished in last place but was fatally injured. The two young horses’ deaths come just days after another gelding, seven-year-old Bobby Benton, slipped on the sharp bend into the short home straight and fell, sustaining catastrophic injuries.

Animal Aid believes that too much racing is taking place at the Surrey venue, and calls into question the state of the Polytrack racing surface, as well as the layout of the track itself, with its sharp bends and short home straight. Jockeys are also frequently seen bunching and bumping their horses for a position.

Says Animal Aid’s Horse Racing Consultant, Dene Stansall:

‘In my opinion, Lingfield’s All-weather racecourse cannot sustain the excessive amount of racing that is held there. And horses are paying the price for this. There is a major horse welfare problem that can only be compounded by more racing. The Racecourse Management and the British Horseracing Authority should suspend all future meetings until a full inquiry has taken place and its findings acted upon. The racing industry boasts that “the horse comes first”. However, this rhetoric is far from the reality, and the racing industry is failing in its duty to protect horses from harm.’

• For a list of all horses killed at Lingfield Racecourse, visit our Race Horse Death Watch website.