At least SEVEN horses used at the 2023 Harvest Racing Festival at Listowel Racecourse have been confirmed dead.
Horse Racing Ireland revealed the identities of the seven horses:
One was used on Day 4 of the festival (20 September 2023)
• 9-year-old Pairc Na Ngael who was pulled up in the “Devon Inn Hotel Handicap Hurdle” race.
Three were used on Day 6 (22 September)
• 5-year-old Spring Street who suffered a fall in the “Guinness Handicap Hurdle (Div II)” race
• 10-year-old Nelly’s Money who suffered a fall in a race
• 6-year-old So Original who “weakened” and was pulled up in a race (after a 504 days break)
Three were used on the final day (23 September)
• 6-year-old Maughold Head who fell in a race
• 5-year-old Aide De Camp who was brought down in the same race
• 7-year-old Holiday In Kerry who finished a race lame
They are the latest horses to have lost their lives during or following race meetings at the County Kerry racecourse.
Four horses last used at the September 2022 Listowel racing festival and four last used at the 2021 festival were previously confirmed to have died.
During last month's festival, several other horses suffered falls or were pulled up during races. Others were found to have burst blood vessels, with blood at their nostrils after races.
At racecourses around Ireland in the past decade, over 1,000 horses have been killed, including 107 last year. Figures obtained by Paul Murphy TD show that from 2012 to the end of 2022, 1,060 horses have lost their lives at racecourses. Horse Racing Ireland – which has received more than €1.3 billion euros in government grants to-date – previously revealed the method of killing to be either lethal injection or a bullet 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. Since 2016, at least 14,474 thoroughbred horses were slaughtered at “Department-approved slaughter facilities” in Ireland.
SEE ALSO
4 horses DEAD following 2022 Listowel racing festival
https://banbloodsports.wordpress.com/?s=listowel&submit=Search
2021 Listowel racing festival: 4 horses confirmed dead
https://banbloodsports.wordpress.com/2022/01/06/listowel-racing-festival-4-horses-confirmed-dead/
ACTION ALERT
Don’t attend races or bet on racing.
Why you should say NO to horse racing – download and distribute the leaflet https://banbloodsports.wordpress.com/2023/08/05/new-leaflet-why-you-should-say-no-to-horse-racing
Demand an end to the government’s massive grants to horse and greyhound racing – more than €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
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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/