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At least four horses are dead following a racing festival at Limerick racecourse in December.

Horse Racing Ireland confirmed the deaths of the horses who were used during the 26-29 December 2023 event. 

Three were used in races on 28 December. They were:

7-year-old Light Parade who fell in the "D Pack Packaging Handicap Hurdle" race. 
7-year-old Clifton Warrior who fell in the "Campion Insurance Tim Duggan Memorial Handicap Chase" race.
7-year-old Champagnesocialist who also fell in a race. 

Two of these horses (Clifton Warrior and Champagnesocialist) were carrying jockey Ben Harvey when they fell.

On the previous day, 27 December, 6-year-old horse Nene River fell in a race and was later confirmed dead.

They are the latest horses to have lost their lives in the past year during or following race meetings at Limerick racecourse (which also hosts cruel hare coursing).

Also dead are:

7-year-old Jetango who “unseated rider” after “bad mistake” in a race on 27 July 2023.
7-year-old Dylan Lombardy who finished third in the “FEXCO Asset Finance Handicap Hurdle” race on 26 May 2023. 
6-year-old Dromore Warrior who was pulled up in the “Regeneron Ireland Handicap Hurdle” race on 26 May 2023. 
4-year-old Pots And Pans who fell and was “fatally injured” in the “Connolly’s RED MILLS Irish EBF Auction Maiden Hurdle” race on 26 May 2023.
7-year-old Grange Pearl who finished eighth in the “Supermac’s Maiden Hurdle” race on 30 March 2023.
4-year-old Surac who fell in a race on 12 March 2023.
10-year-old British horse Molly Kaye who struggled and fell in a “Support Patrickswell GAA Opportunity Handicap Hurdle” race on 31 January 2023. 
7-year-old Clashabreeda who fell and was “fatally injured” in the “Limerick Racecourse Vets Novice Handicap Chase” race on 29 December 2022. 

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/