Don't Back the Cruelty: the dark side of horse racing Most
people regard horse racing as a harmless sport in which the
animals are willing participants who thoroughly enjoy the
thrill. The truth is that, behind the scenes, lies a story of
immense suffering. Approximately 12,000 foals are born into the
closely-related British and Irish racing industries each year,
yet only around 50 per cent go on to become racers. Those horses
who do not make the grade may be slaughtered for meat or
repeatedly change hands in a downward spiral of neglect. Of
those horses who do go on to race, around 420 are raced to death
every year. Beneath its glamorous façade, commercial horse
racing is a ruthless industry motivated by financial gain and
prestige. Cruelty? You can bet on it! Ban the Grand National The
Grand National is a deliberately hazardous race. Since 2000, 22
horses have died on the Grand National course and, over the
course of the three-day meeting, 38 horses have been killed at
the three-day in that same period. Ani