Springwell Bay killed at The Cheltenham Festival – taking the death toll of this brutal event up to 77 horses since 2000

The Cheltenham Festival is one of the most dangerous courses in the world for a horse to set foot upon – with gruelling obstacles and the ‘win-at-all-costs’ mindset of jockeys creating a lethal cocktail for these innocent animals. At least one horse has died there every year for the past twenty years. Furthermore, Animal Aid has evidence that jump racing kills 1 in 58 horses each season – all in the name of ‘profit’ and ‘entertainment’.

Despite a welfare campaign by the industry (called ‘Horse PWR) and promises to improve horse welfare – horses are still dying, getting injured, and being sent to slaughter. In 2024, 214 horses were killed as a result of racing on British racecourses. There were 557 abuses of whip regulations, and 598 horses with racing industry passports were slaughtered.

This is not a ‘sport’ the nation can be proud of – this is animal cruelty.

Notes for Editors

• Read our newly published report – Victims of Abuse in British Horse Racing
• Read more about Animal Aid’s campaign to Ban Jump Racing here – Ban Jump Racing – Animal Aid
• Visit Animal Aid’s Race Horse Death Watch site
• Read our 2014 report Why more horses die at Cheltenham than at any other British racecourse.
• For more information, contact Animal Aid Horse Racing Consultant Dene Stansall on 07780 756 957