In the past twenty years, 69 horses have been killed at the Festival meeting. And on the first day of the 2023 Cheltenham meeting, Malinello’s name brings the total to 70 fatalities – all young horses whose deaths were needless.
But Cheltenham deaths must not be seen in isolation from any other race meetings. Since 2001, over 3,000 horses have been killed in jump races alone.
As a consequence, Animal Aid’s campaign to Ban Jump Racing was launched just before the start of the 2023 Cheltenham Festival – racing’s most notorious event for killing horses – to put a stop to horse suffering.