Inquiry launched into horse deaths

A watchdog is launching an investigation after four horses died in one day at Musselburgh Racecourse.

Smart Ruler, Leather Belly, Sierra Oscar and Kensukes Kingdom were all fatally injured at the track on Monday.

The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) is now to review what may have led to the equines’ deaths, with one seemingly related to a “sudden collapse”.

Musselburgh Racecourse general manager Bill Farnsworth said: “Our thoughts are with the owners, trainers and stable staff of these horses.

“The ground conditions and weatheratmusselburghracecourse on 3 December were ideal for racing, but until we have further information it would be wrong to speculate as to the cause of these tragic incidents. We will work closely with the BHA and assist their investigation to establish what happened and to ensure that Musselburgh continues to adopt best practice for all participants in racing.” Having multiple deaths in a single day of racing has been described as “very rare” by the regulator, who said the fatality rate in Britain over the past few years has reduced to around 0.2 per cent of runners.

Inspectors are due at the racecourse in coming days. Some of the horses are also being sent for post-mortems.

BHA head of media Robin Mounsey said: “The incidents at Musselburgh were extremely distressing.”

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