Four horses died from injuries sustained during races at the Aintree Steeplechase Meet, held in Liverpool, England, April 7-9.
Clonbanan Lad, a 10-year-old Thoroughbred gelding owned by Robert Clifton-Brown and ridden by Jody Sole, and Marasonnien, a 10-year-old gelding owned by S. Ricci and ridden by Patrick Mullins, were both pulled up by their jockeys during the Crabbie’s Fox Hunter Steeplechase on April 7. Chris Proudman, the veterinary adviser to Aintree, reported that both horses later collapsed and died as a consequence of their injuries.
“Despite the immediate attention of veterinary professionals, [the horses] were not able to be saved. Neither incident was associated with a fall,” said Proudman to British news agency The Guardian.
Gullinbursti, a 10-year-old gelding owned by N. Mustoe and ridden by Gavin Sheehan, and Minella Reception, a 10-year-old gelding owned by the Irish Options O Syndicate and ridden by Adam Wedge, died April 8 in the Crabbie’s Topham Steeplechase. Both sustained injuries from a fall at the notorious Becher’s Brook jump.
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Reports from British news agency The Metro indicate Gullinbursti suffered a rotational fall and broke his neck, dying on course. Minella Reception also suffered a rotational fall and was euthanized after an examination back at the stables.
This year’s Aintree Meet marks the highest death toll at the three day event since 2010, when four horses also died. The 2016 deaths are also the first suffered on the course used for the Grand National since the fences were remodeled in 2013. The wooden frame under the brush of the 16-fence course was replaced with a more fragile plastic core.
“Hundreds of horses raced safely around Aintree, but unfortunately you can’t remove all risk from racing, like any sport,” said British Horseracing Authority media manager Robin Mounsey. “People working in racing love horses, and they receive a level of care and quality of life virtually unsurpassed by any other domesticated animal. British racing is working hard to reduce risk as much as possible, and from 90,000 runners last year the sport recorded its lowest ever equine loss of 0.18 percent, which has been steadily reducing and down by a third over the last 20 years. It was also pleasing to note that there were no fatalities in the Grand National itself for the fourth year in a row.”