With Kill Yesterday, Grand National at 54 Since 2000

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The Grand National, Britain’s most famous race, has claimed another life. The Long Mile, seven, was euthanized (ABC News said, “destroyed”) after breaking a leg between fences yesterday. According to Animal Aid, he is the 54th kill there since 2000.

17 Comments

  1. We have never cared for steeplechase racing! Hard,unforgiving,cruel & extremely dangerous for horses & riders.Totally unnatural event in all ways. You never see horses out free in a field jumping hedges!

  2. At least they’re honest. “Destroyed”, like a piece of machinery, instead of the “humanely euthanized” bs.

    • Alan, I hope to heaven when he was “destroyed”, they didn’t do him like Wigmore Hall a few years back.

  3. Aside from the barbaric Grand National (only one reported death) there were 2 others at Lingfield that were reported. So…it was just a massacre yesterday when all was said and done. This is including the 4 at Mahoning that fell over each other. We can only hope the 3 have survived any injury they accrued.

  4. The Grand National course is a death trap and it’s intentionally designed that way.
    The Brits know damn well that at least 1 horse will die, but the people who send them out to die are vile.
    Gordon Elliott, the asshole who sat on his dead horse, has regularly participated in the Grand National.
    Does this surprise anybody?
    People who worked directly for him spilled the beans on national media right after the pic emerged.
    They said he used daily abusive practices on champion Grand National horse TIGER ROLL and was still abusing him at the time the pic was posted.
    They said he pushed the horse so hard as if he was trying to kill him and in several races the horse was in distress and couldn’t finish, but he sent the horse out the very next day for training to watch him suffer.
    You would have to be a sadistic scum to send a non-consenting, voiceless, defenseless, sentient being out to a track to flip a buck for you and all the parasitic whores around you.
    This business is so vile it sickens me.

    • This is why some advocate a somewhat more “direct” and “positive” way of making ones protest against this vile industry and its supporters, in particular the owners, trainers and jockeys. This is a war, a war against brutal, vile, greedy and inhumane people who are as willing to kill a horse as an officer in WWI as he raced into battle on a terrified mount.
      Fine words can only achieve a certain amount, after that those who “innocently” continue to support the industry, like greyhound racing, do so because the advertising spin put on the industry has convinced them that the owners, trainers and. Others care about the animals involved and mourn a dead one after it is killed.

      Direct action will have to finish off the racing industry once and for all, ….and I fully appreciate some will not like hearing that.

      • I agree Ray that direct actions, such as peaceful demonstrations, are a critical component of putting an end to a powerful politically-connected business such as horse racing.
        However, I also agree that a comprehensive approach is needed so that many pieces of the puzzle will fall into place so that a person from the general public will eventually understand just how bad it is.
        Part of those components are words or, as I see it, educating the public and with horse racing this is particularly challenging because horse racing is a sub-culture onto itself including vocabulary-specific words, and in-depth knowledge of the anatomy and physiology of a horse with further knowledge specific to a racehorse which is usually beyond the knowledge of anybody who hasn’t been around a horse.
        Furthermore, the history of horse racing with all of its regalia and repeated phrases such as “we love them like family” “we treat them royally” invokes a image that most of the public has automatically accepted in the past.
        So years of brainwashing is not so easy to reverse and it often starts with words and education.
        I support any method, within legal limits, that helps to shut down this killing business just as I support any animal advocacy or animal rights group who undeniably states their position that horse racing needs to end, that there are no reforms, no safety measures that will stop the torture, brutality and killing,
        Both the public and our politicians need to be educated about the undeniable truth that this business kills racehorses, is an unnecessary gambling venue, and an enormous drain on our depleted financial resources for our communities across North America in those states that financially support it.

        • Gina,
          Do you have any figures to show how much money goes to horseracing from government subsidies of whatever kind versus how much money the racing industry pays back into the government as taxes (especially taxes on wagering handle revenue)? How about in one state such as New York, for example? This is something that politicians would look at, in case they haven’t already. I don’t think the idea of racehorses being killed from being brutalized would be as convincing to politicians that horseracing needs to be defunded.

          • Hey Wanda, although my knowledge of figure-specific financial support to horse racing is mostly in Ontario I was able to find an article that was very helpful: https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/new-york-elections-government/ny-end-horse-racing-subsidies-ny-state-20210324-hwvmoytkfnh5lel76rtlfupy7a-story.html
            They estimate at least 250-300 million per year going to support NY horse racing instead of education and other services.
            There seems to be a common and proven figure in most states that are supported by slots/public coffers.
            In an article posted herein “Is Horse Racing Too Big To Fail,” by Ryan Goldberg there’s a lady called Susan Spicka quoted in this article and she has a wealth of accurate, detailed information re: racehorse funding.
            I’ve often said that the obvious moral issue of killing racehorses will not put an end to this vile business, but a combination of things and this article is a wealth of detailed information.

  6. It has been brought to my attention that 15 horses finished this steeplechase race out of 40 starters. I found a page on the internet that lists the names of the 15 horses that finished the race and the wagering odds for each of the 15 horses and the names of the 25 horses that did not finish with a note if the horse was pulled up or refused or unseated the rider, etc.
    This using horses as an entertainment venue/ business needs to be BANNED for sure!
    As we know, one horse, THE LONG MILE, is dead out of the 25 horses that did not finish this steeplechase race. So, now the big question is: what will become of the other 24 horses that were injured or damaged somehow and did not finish??? Will they be sent to slaughter???

    • I’m from England and I actually watched the race on our TV….My friend also watches all racing on our TV channels as she reports any sightings of injured or killed horses in any race to our Animal Aid, racehorse death watch section. This group reports all race horse deaths throughout England. When I noticed that The Long Mile had fallen and got up with a ‘dangling’ hind leg, I immediately knew that he would be destroyed, but the race commentator never mentioned The Long Mile again until after the race when he said ‘that he had been put to sleep’ I just couldn’t believe that he actually said that. There was an article on my internet the following day about the two injured jockeys that had been taken to hospital, I was truly trolled as I asked ‘what about the horse that was killed, the jockeys chose to ride in the race, the horse didn’t!!! It was the same old story, how the owners were so upset..blah, blah, blah….

      • Thank you, Irene. I still wonder about the other 24 horses that DNF this steeplechase race. On this one particular page, all that was said about THE LONG MILE was that he was “pulled up” and there were several other horses that were pulled up. The details of why they were “pulled up” are not listed on the page I’m referring to.

      • Irene, there was an organization (maybe the one you mentioned) that showed The Long Mile video when he was struggling to stand and balance. Was the injury from running in the race or did he fall over one of the HURDLES? The injury was horrid. The Steeplechase should be outlawed
        BARBARIC display of abuse

  7. How appropriate. The Long Mile, like thousands of other horses, was destroyed by horse racing. Just another piece of disposable property that, in the eyes of the parasites who owned him, had no intelligence, no feelings, and no real worth beyond what could be made off of him.

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