Steeplechaser Arcadius dies after winning $150,000 Iroquois

(AP) NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Arcadius collapsed and died as he was being cooled down after winning the $150,000 Iroquois Steeplechase at Percy Warner Park on Saturday. The 8-year-old gelding collapsed at a station placed just beyond the finish line of the 3-mile race. Dr. Marty McInturff, one of five official veterinarians on the course, said…

BHA surprised by RSPCA Grand National attack and so are we

There are a lot of articles on this issue, but we will go with The Guardian's coverage. The British Horseracing Authority said on Wednesday it would not be drawn into "any knee-jerk reactions or decisions" following a call by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals for Becher's Brook, steeplechasing's most famous…

Grand National: Plotting the best course to safer racing

Grand National. Safer racing. Can it be done? Yes, but careful study needs to be done before any changes are made. Injury and fatality free racing. Can that be done? In the digital world perhaps, but not in live racing. In an article for BBC Sport Frank Keogh spoke with three former National Hunt jockeys,…

Grand National: According to Pete owner will not return

Cross-posted from BBC News The owner of a horse that was put down after falling at a fence in the Grand National at Aintree has said he will not enter horses in the race again. Peter Nelson, who lives at Helperby, near Boroughbridge, in North Yorkshire, owned According to Pete, who fell at Becher's Brook…

May Races RSPCA cruelty case collapses (AU)

I do not know about you, but I am tired of veterinarians acting as paid -- or in this case unpaid -- mouthpieces to support cruelty to horses. Surely any bystander with a passing knowledge of horses, or witnessing anyone catastrophically injured, would know it is exceedingly cruel and unfeeling to move the victim. How…

Two horses die at Scottish Grand National

Regal Heights and Minella Four Star collapsed at the end of the four mile Scottish Grand National at Ayr racecourse. Regal Heights died of a suspected heart attack, while Minella Four Star is thought to have died of internal bleeding. Their deaths come in the wake of last Saturday's Grand National – the highest profile…