RUSSELL BACKS RACING’S NEW WELFARE PLAN
LUCINDA RUSSELL insisted “the facts matter” as the trainer welcomed British racing’s front-foot welfare initiative, launched a week before the start of Aintree’s Grand National fixture.
The Horsepwr campaign, which includes the new website horsepwr.co.uk, seeks to combat misinformation peddled by its opponents about how the sport treats the thoroughbreds at its core.
Funded by the British Horseracing Authority, Great British Racing and the Jockey Club, the venture has the stated long-term aim of “connecting and engaging with significantly wider audiences”.
And it received an emphatic thumbs-up from Kinross-based Russell, victorious in the 2017 National with One For Arthur and seeking back-to-back triumphs with last year’s winner Corach Rambler — the race was delayed by a protest at Aintree by the Animal Rising pressure group — on Merseyside tomorrow week.
“This is just what racing needs,” said Russell. “We must provide the facts, help educate, and confront the tough question.
“The facts matter. We understand our responsibility and respect our horses, and we want to make sure the public know this, too.
“It’s good to see us showing pride in the lives we give our horses, and challenging and correcting inaccurate information which is put into the public domain by those who are opposed to the sport.”
Richard Hoiles (above), who will call the National for ITV viewers, added: “Following the welfare debates around last year’s Grand National it was felt the sport lacked a single source for accurate facts about racing and this campaign fills that vacuum.”