Posted on the 13th February 2015
On Thursday February 12, five-year-old gelding, Poyle Toby, became the first equine victim at the newly revamped Chelmsford City racecourse – formerly known as Great Leighs.
The young horse was having just his third race when he was seen to lose his stride, wobble, rise up and then collapse as the other runners continued to the finish in the 5.35pm one mile flat race event.
The death of Poyle Toby comes after recent promotion and celebrations by the industry about the Essex All-Weather course with its Polytrack artificial racing surface. Despite the heavy promotion, only a small number of runners are brought to the meetings, and much of the infrastructure of the venue is still to be built.
Says Animal Aid’s Horse Racing Consultant, Dene Stansall:
‘The sight of Poyle Toby’s last moments was horrific. This poor horse is the nineteenth to die on a British racecourse since the start of 2015. Animal Aid is asking people to withdraw their support for an industry that fails so many of its equine victims.’
For more information: contact Dene Stansall on 01732 364546.
Visit Race Horse Death Watch for full listings of on-course deaths.
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