All 39 horses come back safely from main event, but four dead overall at famous Aintree meeting

Although the 39 horses who started under orders in the 2016 Aintree Grand National steeplechase all reportedly came back safely, that cannot be said for the four horses who were killed overall at the three day event.

The Sporting Life reports:

The Mouse Morris-trained Rule The World led home 16 finishers in the world’s most famous steeplechase in the hands of the teenage David Mullins, having his first ride in the race.

Just four horses officially fell, while seven unseated their riders and 12 were pulled up.

Aintree’s clerk of the course, Andrew Tulloch, said: “All horses have come back safe.

However, the Independent reports:

While the main race passed without serious incident, the deaths which occurred after other events make the competition the bloodiest in years.

The first deaths came on the opening day as ten-year-olds Clonbanan Lad and Marasonnien died after being pulled up and fatally injured in the Fox Hunters’ Chase event, according to Race Horse Death Watch, an Animal Aid run monitoring group. [1]

Further adding to the death toll were Gullinbursti and Minella Reception, who died on Friday during the Topham Chase event. Both were hurt in a fall at the notorious Becher’s Brook jump.

Gullinbursti, also ten-years-old, suffered a broken neck and had to be put down, while Minella Reception was euthanized after an off-course evaluation.

The Huffington Post reports:

“The Aintree authorities and the official industry regulator, the British Horseracing Authority, have sought, over the last two years, to lure the public into believing that equine deaths at Aintree were now to be thought of as a rarity in this modern age,” stated Dene Stansall, Animal Aid’s horseracing consultant.

PHOTO: MIKE EGERTON / PA WIRE.
Irish Cavalier ridden by jockey Paul Townend takes a fall during the Betfred Bowl Chase during the Grand Opening Day of the Aintree Grand National Meeting, Liverpool, England.

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AINTREE GRAND NATIONAL MEETING DEATH TOLL SINCE 2000

Year	Grand National	Foxhunters / Topham	Mildmay Chase / Hurdle	TOTAL
2000	0	2	3	5
2001	0	1	0	1
2002	2	1	1	4
2003	1	0	1	2
2004	0	0	0	0
2005	0	0	1	1
2006	1	1	0	2
2007	1	1	1	3
2008	1	2	0	3
2009	1	1	3	5
2010	0	2	3	5
2011	2	0	2	4
2012	2	0	1	3
2013	0	2	0	2
2014	0	0	0	0
2015	0	0	2	2
2016	0	2	2	4
TOTAL	11	15	20	46

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[1] See also Deaths of Marasonnien and Clonbanan Lad mar chase win for On The Fringe; by Greg Wood; via The Guardian; 7 April 2016.

Twenty-two runners went to post for the Fox Hunters’ Chase here on Thursday, the first of three races this week over the Grand National fences, but two failed to return after both Marasonnien and Clonbanan Lad collapsed after being pulled up during the race.

“Clonbanan Lad and Marasonnien were pulled up during the Fox Hunters’ Steeple Chase by their jockeys but later collapsed,” Professor Chris Proudman, the veterinary adviser to Aintree, said after the race. “Despite the immediate attention of veterinary professionals [the horses] were not able to be saved.” Neither incident was associated with a fall.

MORE

• Grand National fears mount after two horses die from falls at Becher’s Brook, Gullinbursti and Minella Reception die on Grand National course; by Greg Wood; via The Guardian, 8 April 2016.

• Niceonefrankie becomes the fifth horse to die at Cheltenham Festival; March 18, 2016.

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FEATURED IMAGE: Silhouette of 2016 Grand National runners jumping fences at Aintree, Liverpool. Photo: Alex Livesey/Getty Images