66 horses have died at the Grand National in the past 25 years. Is it time to call it a day?

Telegraph

05-04-2025

It is among the most famous and most watched horse race globally, viewed by about 800 million people around the world. The Grand National occupies a special place in the British sporting calendar, with the Liverpool meeting evoking excitement and nostalgia in equal measure.
Even if we watched no other horse race during childhood, we probably watched this one, encouraged by parents who had a flutter on a runner with a funny name they liked.
A third of all adults in Britain are expected to have placed a bet on today's race, with some £150 million splashed out in total. And the Grand National Festival doesn't just boost the coffers of the bookies: it is worth tens of millions to the local economy, too. In 2022, it netted some £60 million for the Liverpool City Region, according to researchers at Liverpool Business School.
But if the Aintree event, which stretches back 186 years, is something of a national institution, on a par with the tennis at Wimbledon or the FA Cup final, it certainly does not lack controversy. In the past 25 years, 66 horses have died during the three-day meeting and many more have been injured.
What makes the race a compelling spectacle has also made it a dangerous one over the years, say critics, with the course risky for both horses and their riders. One horse has already suffered a fatal injury during this year's festival. Willy De Houelle, aged four, died after falling in the Juvenile Hurdle on Thursday, the Grand National's opening day. Animal rights campaigners were quick to seize on the incident to call for change.
'The tragic death…illustrates why we need a new, independent regulator that has horse welfare as its number one priority,' said Emma Slawinski, chief executive of the League Against Cruel Sports, in a statement that day. 'We need to replace the British Horse Racing Authority, make immediate moves to outlaw the whip and stop sacrificing horses for entertainment and the profits of the gambling companies.'
In previous years, protesters incensed by perceived animal cruelty have disrupted the main event, most recently in 2023, when the steeplechase was delayed by almost 15 minutes after members of the Animal Rising group tried to glue themselves to a fence.
This came 30 years after the four-mile race was voided altogether, following a long delay caused by protesters who had to be removed from the course, and then two false starts.
But the Grand National of today (which takes in 30 jumps) is not the event it once was. A number of changes have been made to improve safety, including reducing the maximum field size from 40 to 34 runners; moving the first fence 60 yards closer to the start to reduce the chances of horses building up too much speed before jumping it; bringing the start time forward from 5.15pm to 4pm to improve the ground for the horses; the addition of rubber toe boards on every fence; and the reduction in the height of fence 11 by two inches, from 5ft to 4ft 10ins.
Last year, there were no fallers for the first time on record and the rate of such incidents has decreased by more than a third in the past two decades. Since 2000, there have been 13 Grand National races with no fatalities.
Aintree Racecourse has meanwhile spent more than £2 million on equine welfare measures.
'We review all aspects of the Grand National every year, with the welfare of everyone involved our number one priority, and we also work hard to preserve the unique characteristics and hallmarks which make it the iconic race it is,' says Jon Pullin, the Jockey Club's head of racing and clerk of the course at Aintree.
The racing industry is 'the single biggest investor in equine health and welfare in the UK,' he says, with £56 million spent over the last 25 years alone.
'Over the years we've made numerous changes [to the Grand National], including modifying every fence in 2012 from timber frames to more forgiving plastic and investing hundreds of thousands of pounds in an enhanced watering system and a state-of-the-art cooling and washdown area for horses post-race.'
The British Horseracing Authority argues the sport 'Celebrates the athletic brilliance of the thoroughbred' and says the Grand National is the 'very pinnacle' of this.
'Racing is committed to reducing all reasonably avoidable risk and has worked tirelessly over decades to this end,' says a spokesman. '[W]e remain in a constant, ongoing cycle of gathering evidence… and making improvements where we can.'
All horses running at Aintree this week have been assessed by vets prior to their races to ensure they are fit to take part, he adds, with each animal taking part also approved to race by a panel of experts.
'It is simply not correct to say that racing, or the Grand National, is cruel,' says the spokesman. 'Many thousands of people work hard every day of the week to provide outstanding levels of care to our horses and it is offensive to characterise what they do, more often than not from a place of deep affection and respect for the thoroughbred, as cruelty.'
Grand National regulars at Aintree remain fiercely protective of it, and vehemently oppose the idea that it might be time to end the race.
'There's nowhere in the world I would rather be', says Lisa Merrick, 38, from the Wirral, as the sun shines over the racecourse on Saturday. 'It brings people together. This race is over a hundred years old. The horses here are treated like superstars and are so well looked after. Can we not keep hold of some traditions?'
Marc Redmond, 64, from Greater Manchester, adds: 'There have been many modifications in recent years to mitigate risk. It would be a tragedy if this event was damaged.'
But campaigners say the changes haven't gone far enough (even if some fans grumble they have stripped the race of some of its special character).
'The Grand National is a deadly bloodbath,' says Elisa Allen, vice president of UK programmes and operations at animal rights organisation PETA. 'You can cloak it in fashion and fizz, but decent people see it for what it is: animal abuse. Those who attend would be rioting if it were dogs being whipped, catastrophically injured, and sent to the meat grinder when they stopped winning races. Why should it be any different when done to horses?
'The Grand National isn't 'the ultimate test of horse and rider', it's the ultimate test of human ethics…and we're failing miserably as long as we continue to bet on horses' lives. It's time to put this gruesome race out to pasture.'
Another life was lost. Another broken body on the track. When will we stop gambling with their lives? #YouBetTheyDie pic.twitter.com/5GH2XZAE0w
— PETA UK (@PETAUK) April 5, 2025
Animal Rising said last year it was indefinitely suspending its campaign of direct action against racing. But this doesn't mean it is satisfied that the Grand National is sufficiently changed to ensure no horse is harmed.
'No amount of industry 'welfare improvements' can mask the truth,' says Rose Patterson, co-director of the movement. 'This so-called sport pushes horses past their limits, risking their safety and lives for the entertainment and profit of a few. The Grand National is not a celebration - it's a systemic abuse of animals who have no choice in their exploitation.'
As this year's Grand National gets under way, one thing at least is certain: as long as the horses continue to run, so will the arguments against this British spectacle's very existence.