Three Ireland is again being urged to stop sponsoring horse racing. Despite being told about all the suffering and death in racing, the mobile network company is sponsoring the €11,500 “Three Ireland Rated Novice Steeplechase” at Tramore Racecourse on 17th August 2023.

At last year's “Three Ireland Rated Novice Chase” race at Tramore (11 August 2022), horses were forced to run in high heatwave temperatures.

During the 1.8-mile €6,785 race, two horses fell and another unseated a rider. Horse Racing Ireland footage from the race shows horses being whipped across the finishing line https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0VJvTMPGY4&t=38s

“Three Ireland Rated Novice Chase” races have previously taken place at Tramore in 2019, 2020 and 2021 - all with over €10,000 in prize money.

Three Ireland has continued to sponsor racing despite the fact that at its 2020 race, a 6-year-old Irish horse named Mystery Stowaway died after suffering a fatal injury.

This unfortunate horse is one of many victims of horse racing. 

Figures obtained by Paul Murphy TD show that from 2012 to the end of 2022, 1,060 horses have lost their lives at racecourses around Ireland. This includes 107 deaths last year. They were killed by lethal injection or shot in the head.

The death figures do not include the horses injured at racecourses, taken away and later killed elsewhere or the horses killed behind the scenes because they are not fast enough to win races.

Many more race horses are also killed in slaughterhouses. Between 2016 and March 2023, 14,474 thoroughbred horses were slaughtered at “Department-approved slaughter facilities” in Ireland. The details came to light further to Parliamentary Questions to the Minister for Agriculture.

Thousands more have been exported to the UK for slaughter – as exposed in the disturbing BBC documentary “The Dark Side of Horse Racing” which showed horses being shot in the head https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlpQhJFd5Bo

ACTION ALERT

Join us in urging Three Ireland to show compassion for the horses and end its support for racing.

Robert Finnegan
Managing Director, Three Ireland
Email: robert.finnegan@three.ie
Twitter https://twitter.com/ThreeIreland
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/threeireland/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/3Ireland/

Download and distribute the leaflet - Why you should say NO to horse racing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1l1XkiyTTlyJTmbWi937YMU9YyRLZhNqT

Help end the cruelty and killing – stay away from racecourses and never bet on horse racing.

Demand an end to the government’s massive grants to horse and greyhound racing – more than a €1.6 Billion handed over since 2001, including €91 million for 2023. Contact the Taoiseach, Tánaiste and Finance Minister now.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar TD
Telephone: +353 (0)1-704 3630 OR +353 (0)1-640 3133
Email: leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie; finegael@finegael.ie
Tweet to: http://www.twitter.com/@LeoVaradkar
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LeoVaradkar

Tanaiste Micheál Martin TD
Email: micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie; info@fiannafail.ie
Phone: +353 (0)1–618 4350 or +353 (0)21-432 0088
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michealmartintd/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@MichealMartinTD

Michael McGrath TD
Minister for Finance
Email: michael.mcgrath@oireachtas.ie; minister@per.gov.ie
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/michael.mcgrath.1614
Twitter: http://twitter.com/mmcgrathtd

Irish Government grants to horse racing

2001 €47,110,330
2002 €54,452,651
2003 €51,348,800
2004 €53,531,200
2005 €54,680,000
2006 €56,047,000
2007 €58,539,000
2008 €61,028,800
2009 €54,502,000
2010 €47,411,200
2011 €45,830,000
2012 €45,032,000
2013 €44,016,000
2014 €43,376,000
2015 €54,400,000
2016 €59,200,000
2017 €64,000,000
2018 €64,000,000
2019 €67,200,000
2020 €67,200,000
2021 €76,800,000
2022 €70,400,000
2023 €72,800,000

TOTAL: €1,312,904,981 (€1.31 Billion)

Irish Government grants to greyhound racing

2001 €11,777,583
2002 €13,613,163
2003 €12,837,200
2004 €13,382,800
2005 €13,670,000
2006 €14,012,000
2007 €14,572,000
2008 €15,257,000
2009 €13,625,600
2010 €11,852,800
2011 €11,460,000
2012 €11,258,000
2013 €11,004,000
2014 €10,844,000
2015 €13,600,000
2016 €14,800,000
2017 €16,000,000
2018 €16,000,000
2019 €16,800,000
2020 €16,800,000
2021 €19,200,000
2022 €17,600,000
2023 €18,200,000

TOTAL: €328,166,146 (€328.1 Million)

Source: Department of Agriculture

Watch the BBC Panorama documentary “The Dark Side of Horse Racing”
https://youtu.be/VlpQhJFd5Bo

Find out more about race horse deaths at
https://banbloodsports.wordpress.com/2021/08/19/horses-confirmed-dead-following-races-at-irish-racecourses/