Many Clouds tribute at Cheltenham

Posted on the 25th January 2018

A year on since the death of race horse Many Clouds at Cheltenham, the racecourse is, at this weekend’s race meeting, screening a film about the horse, whilst his trainer, Oliver Sherwood, is taking a live Q&A session. This is likely to be a sanitised tribute to the horse’s life that glorifies racing rather than showing the truth about the horse’s exploitation and death.

Many Clouds won the Grand National Steeplechase in 2015. After this, he was run a number of times, suffering distressing physical symptoms at the end of some of his races.

Animal Aid wrote to the British Horseracing Authority stressing our concerns that Many Clouds was likely to collapse and die if he continued racing. Ten months later, in January 2017, Many Clouds died at Cheltenham at the end of a very strenuous race, run over three miles and jumping 21 fences on soft ground. We believe this simply proved too much for the horse and he dropped dead after the finish line.

Since March 2007, Cheltenham Racecourse has seen 84 horses die as a result of racing – the worst death toll of any of Britain’s 60 racecourses.

We have not seen any such tributes for the other 83 horses who died at Cheltenham Racecourse.

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

‘Animal Aid does not feel vindicated but extremely disappointed that this poor animal was let down by the racing industry, paying the ultimate price with his life – and for what? He had already won his connections nearly a million pounds in prize money and achieved the highest ambitions that any owner or trainer could ask of a horse. Yet, he was still forced to race on, despite the distress signals he showed in his races.’

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