Horses’ welfare is under increased scrutiny but the authorities must protect the sport from ignorance and misconceptions
Tuesday’s confirmation that more than 200 horses suffered fatal injuries on British racecourses in 2018 – the highest total since 2012 – arrived at an unfortunate moment for the British Horseracing Authority, which has made a stumbling start to the new year. The regulator had already backed down on a proposal to insist that all horses in jumps races are fully shod when it released a statement on Monday that supported a decision by the Uttoxeter stewards to impose a £140 fine on the trainer Henry Oliver, who waved his arms behind one of his horses to persuade it to set off with the rest of the field.
In fact, the statement did rather more than simply support the Uttoxeter stewards’ decision. Instead, it seemed to attempt to set the fine in the context of an entirely fresh philosophical approach to the sport, in which “we do not force horses to race and that they do so of their own free will”. It was a suggestion that attracted immediate and widespread ridicule, and the BHA backed down so swiftly that, sadly, there was no chance for an imaginative jockey to use it in their defence in a non-triers inquiry. “I wanted to win, sir, I really did, but my horse has free will and he wanted to sit 25 lengths off the lead.”
Related: Talking Horses: Bookies warned over attempts to silence punter complaints
Continue reading...