Animal Aid’s facts and figures about the Grand National 2021

53 horses have been killed at the three-day Grand National Meeting since the year 2000. Of these:

• 12 Horses have been killed in the main Grand National Race.
• 20 horses have been killed on the Grand National course in other races held during the three-day Grand National Meeting.
• 21 horses have been killed on the Mildmay Course during the Grand National Meeting.
• The Grand National Meeting was cancelled in 2020 due to Covid-19.

Animal Aid’s list of all horses who have died at the Grand National Meeting since 2000, including their details, can be viewed here.

Animal Aid’s Horseracing Consultant, Dene Stansall, has analysed the issues surrounding the Grand National in this report.

Background facts:

• Animal Aid has been at the forefront of exposing, and campaigning against, the racing industry for more than two decades.
• In 2007, Animal Aid launched Race Horse Deathwatch – the only public record of the names and details of horses who were killed on all British racecourses, compiled by Animal Aid’s meticulous research. 2,204 horses have been killed on British racecourses (as of 25 March 2021) since it was launched.
• As of 24 March 2021, 24 horses were killed on 18 racecourses, with three horses killed in an afternoon at Wetherby. Looking back over the 14 years that Animal Aid has recorded deaths, March 2021 has had the highest death toll of any preceding month.
• Animal Aid’s campaign to ban the use of the whip has been backed by 95 MPs to date.
• Animal Aid’s campaign, which calls for the creation of an independent body to be responsible for race horse welfare, led to a Parliamentary debate on race horse welfare in 2018. Animal Aid continues to campaign for the British Horseracing Authority to be stripped of its responsibility for race horse welfare, due to the shocking rate of race horse deaths and injuries.