Another big blow to horse racing - Caldwell Construction Ltd is to make a "shock exit" from racing, it has been reported.

According to the Horse Racing Ireland website, the company - which has a head office in Stoke-On-Trent - owns 29 horses.

In a post on X, Caldwell Construction said its decision was prompted by the deaths of two of its horses in recent weeks - "Further to the sad loss of one of our young horses DB Cooper again as a family we are absolutely heartbroken. Also we lost Smooth Player only just 2 weeks ago. Having a young family it’s hard to cope with such losses and therefore we feel it is time for a break from the sport."

5-year-old horse DB Cooper was fatally injured in a race at Fairyhouse Racecourse on 24 January 2024. 

The cause of Smooth Player's recent death is unknown.  The horse finished second in his final race at Downpatrick Racecourse on 19 May 2023.

The remaining horses owned by Caldwell will not be spared the risk of painful injuries and death in the future but will instead be sold on.

The Racing Post has reported that "Caldwell Construction, the ownership vehicle of Andy and Gemma Brown closely associated with Gordon Elliott's powerhouse stable, will offload all of their horses at a Tattersalls Ireland dispersal sale on February 6 in a shock move that will see them exit the racing game indefinitely."

According to an article in the Irish Independent, the company is to “leave racing with almost immediate effect” in what it describes as a “big blow” to Gordon Elliott who “may lose some of his best horses”. 

Other horses owned by Caldwell Construction who lost their lives at racecourses were 6-year-old Mighty Potter who fell and suffered a fatal injury in the “WilllowWarm Gold Cup Chase” race at Fairyhouse on 9  April 2023 and 4-year-old Baba Buck’s who stumbled and was fatally injured during a race at Fairyhouse on 28 November 2021.

They are among a growing list of racing-related fatalities.

At racecourses around Ireland in the past decade, over 1,000 horses have been killed, including 107 in 2022. 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.

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 €1.7 Billion (€1,736,071,127) handed over since 2001, including €95 million for 2024. 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
X: 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/
X: 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
X: 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
2024 €76,000,000

TOTAL: €1,388,904,981
(€1.38 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
2024 €19,000,000
TOTAL: €347,166,146 (€347.1 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/

Visit Animal Aid's Horse Death Watch websites
https://www.horsedeathwatch.com/
https://irishhorsedeathwatch.com/