Sad to see more deaths at National
■ Aintree, the worst of all racecourses, is a disgrace and the Jockey Club and British racing fraternity should hang their heads in utter shame at what we saw last weekend – three beautiful, magnificent horses killed for the purpose of entertainment.
Envoye Special, Dark Raven and Hill Sixteen all died at the Grand National Festival this year. Horses are exploited in this cruel, barbaric ‘sport’ and losing their lives just so some people can make money.
Sportspeople have the choice to risk injury for their profession but horses have no voice. They are forced to run, and are whipped and pushed by a jockey until they have nothing left to give. It’s absolutely heartbreaking and jump racing simply has to be banned.
Lorna Twaddle, Arbroath, Angus
■ Do the protesters at the Grand National not realise the stress they caused the horses which were all primed to race? The delay and the chaos they caused were actions of mindless idiots.
The city of Liverpool benefits tremendously from the Grand National Festival which creates jobs and boosts the local economy. The racing industry keeps thousands in employment, not just stable staff but caterers and food suppliers to feed the racegoers, hotels, taxi and coach companies – the people involved is phenomenal.
These protesters should try looking at the bigger picture.
Mary Taylor, Fairburn West Yorks
■ I’m appalled at the antihorseracing protesters being treated like criminals when they are only trying to protect animals from human exploitation.
Racing promoters and pundits say it’s only natural for horses to run together in the wild, jumping fences to escape predators. Indeed it is, but not under the duress of the human will and whipped so they run faster just for so-called entertainment. In my humble opinion, horse and dog racing should be banned – it’s tantamount to animal slavery.
Pete Perry, Stevenage, Herts
■ Racehorses are bred to race and are among the most cosseted animals on the planet. I don’t mind anyone protesting, but I object to someone forcing their views on me. What’s next? Burning down farms to save cows and pigs? If protesters broke the law they should be punished. As usual, it’s insignificant groups who shout the loudest.
Eric Roberts St Helens Merseyside
■ We are told by the racing crowd that racehorses have a pampered life, but do they?
These horses are shut in stables for most of their working lives, then trucked around the country to different race meetings where they have drunken gamblers shouting at them to win.
We have to stop using animals for our entertainment.
Max Burgess, Malvern, Worcs
■ These animal rights protesters won’t stop until they get jump racing banned. Never mind that plenty of people enjoy the sport and the occasional flutter on the horses. These people are ignorant and seem to have no idea how pampered the animals are.
Ed Brown, Doncaster
■ The racing community point out how well racehorses are treated, but it’s a business. If horses are winning and paying their way, they do get well looked after.
What worries me is what happens to those animals who consistently finish further down the field.
Ronnie Starkey, Norwich