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The targeting of Epsom is open to debate – but the right to peaceful protest is not | Greg Wood

As infuriating as disruption to the most famous Classic would be, opposition to racing is likely to be around for some time All human life is present and cheerfully incorrect in William Powell Frith’s famous painting The Derby Day. Lords and ladies, rakes and scoundrels, circus performers and card sharps, high society and lowlifes and everything in between, all cheek-by-jowl at one of the very few events in Victorian Britain at which the classes mingled with relative freedom.If Frith were to return to Epsom for the Derby next month, 167 years since the one he initially sketched in 1856, he would still find a rich assortment of characters both in the grandstands and roaming free on the Hill – with,...

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BHA must fight its corner amid racing’s ‘social contract’ debate | Greg Wood

Horses’ welfare is under increased scrutiny but the authorities must protect the sport from ignorance and misconceptionsTuesday’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...

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