At least 6 horses dead following Listowel racing festival

Petition updateIrish Government: Stop giving millions of euros to horse racingAt least 6 horses dead following Listowel racing festival

Irish Council Against Blood SportsMullingar, Ireland

Oct 4, 2025

At least SIX horses used at the Listowel racing festival last month are now known to have died.

Confirmed dead following the 21-27 September 2025 “Harvest Festival” are:

Two horses who suffered falls in the “Behans Horseshoe Bar, Restaurant & Townhouse Handicap Hurdle” race at Listowel racecourse on 25 September. They were:

6-year-old French horse I Am Mimi and
5-year-old British horse Noticebox

Also dead is 4-year-old Kaptain Bay who was pulled up in a race earlier the same day.

On the previous day (24 September), 5-year-old Bitofajokelike “sustained an injury close to line” and finished third in the “Devon Inn Dan Sheehan Memorial Handicap Hurdle” race. He was later confirmed dead.

Two horses used on Day 1 of the festival are also dead:
8-year-old French horse So Scottish who was “slowly away” and unseated jockey Aidan Kelly in the “Kerry Dairy Ireland Handicap Chase” race and
7-year-old Elle Klassycco who was pulled up in the “Dairygold Maiden Hurdle” race.

They are the latest horses to have lost their lives during or following race meetings at the County Kerry racecourse.

Three horses used in the Listowel Races Summer Festival (31 May - 2 June 2025) also died.

They were 9-year-old Olord who finished fifth in a race on Day 1 and two horses used in the “John B. Keane (C & G) Maiden Hurdle” race on the final day - Grove Gardens who finished 5th and Brandyandportpaddy who was pulled up.

Three horses used in racing on a single day during the 2024 “Harvest Festival” are also dead. As are seven horses used at the 2023 festival, four horses used at the 2022 festival and four used at the 2021 festival.

During last month’s festival, horses suffered falls and others were pulled up injured, “lame having been struck into”, clinically abnormal or had “blood at both nostrils post race”.

At racecourses around Ireland in the past decade, over 1,000 horses have been killed. 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. Between 2016 and 2023, 15,658 thoroughbreds were slaughtered at “Department-approved slaughter facilities” in Ireland.

In 2024, 919 horses were slaughtered in Ireland (including 647 thoroughbred racehorses), 782 Irish horses were slaughtered in the UK (including 538 thoroughbred racehorses) and 256 Irish horses were exported to France and slaughtered.

Horrific cruelty to race horses before slaughter was exposed in the “RTE Investigates: Horses – Making a Killing” documentary which can be viewed at https://youtu.be/ymm0xh3gp7o

ACTION ALERT

Don’t bet on horse racing or attend horse racing events.

Since 2001, the Irish Government has granted €1.46 Billion of public funds to horse racing Contact the Taoiseach, Tanaiste and Finance Minister and demand an end to state funding to this gambling activity which causes so much suffering and death. Tell them to redirect the funds to the many deserving charities, health/homeless/environmental groups, sports clubs, animal rescue centres, etc crying out for funding.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin TD
Email: micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie; info@fiannafail.ie
Tel: 01 619 4000
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michealmartintd/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@MichealMartinTD

Tanaiste Simon Harris TD
Telephone: 01 281 3727
Email: simon.harris@oireachtas.ie; finegael@finegael.ie
X: http://www.twitter.com/SimonHarrisTD
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/DeputySimonHarris

Paschal Donohoe TD
Minister for Finance
Email: minister@finance.gov.ie
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/paschal.donohoe
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Paschald

Sign and share the petitions

Irish Government: Stop giving millions of euros to horse racing
https://www.change.org/p/irish-government-stop-giving-millions-of-euros-to-horse-racing

Irish Government: Stop Giving Millions of Euro to Cruel Greyhound Racing
https://www.change.org/p/irish-government-stop-giving-millions-of-euro-to-cruel-greyhound-racing

Join us in urging companies to stop sponsoring horse racing

Guinness Ireland
Email: customer.service@diageo.com; Consumerinfo.ireland@diageo.com

The Connacht Hotel
Email: marketing@theconnacht.ie
Tel: +353 91 381200

Grá Chocolates
Email: hello@grachocolates.com
"We're proud to sponsor ‘The Grá Chocolates Handicap’ at the Galway Races for the 4th consecutive year" (Gra Chocolates tweet, 29 July 2025)

SuperValu Ireland
Email: group@musgrave.ie
Tel +353 (0) 21 4522100
X: https://twitter.com/Musgraveplc
The SuperValu Ireland Ladies Day meeting took place at Roscommon Racecourse on 8th July 2024. Organisers thanked Supervalu for “making this event possible”. On the day, 5-year-old horse Morning Soldier was pulled up in the “SuperValu Co. Roscommon Ladies Day Novice Hurdle” race and was later confirmed dead.

EMS Copiers
Email: info@emscopiers.ie; sales@emscopiers.ie
Tel: 01 6205501.

Colm Quinn BMW
Email: sales@colmquinnbmw.ie
Tel: 090 646 5888
X: ttps://twitter.com/ColmQuinn_bmw
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Colm-Quinn-BMW/117749908310381

Bulmers Irish Cider (also known as Magners Original Irish Cider)
Email: info@bulmers.ie; company.secretary@candcgroup.ie
https://www.facebook.com/bulmersoriginalirishcider
X: https://twitter.com/bulmersireland
In 2022, Bulmers was announced as “the Official Entertainment Partner of Horse Racing Ireland’s Racecourses”, with a Bulmers spokesperson stating: “We are delighted to be expanding and re-energising our long-standing relationship with Horse Racing Ireland and are looking forward to the next three years working to grow the spectator experience at horse racing”

Westmeath County Council/Belvedere House and Gardens
Sponsors racing at Kilbeggan Racecourse
Email: chiefexecutive@Westmeathcoco.ie; info@belvedere-house.ie
X: https://x.com/westmeathcoco
https://x.com/BelvedereHouse

Kilmurray’s Homevalue Hardware
Mullingar Business Park
Tel: 044 934 2955
Email: info@kilmurrayprecast.ie
Kilmurray’s Homevalue Hardware sponsored the €100,000 “Kilmurray’s Homevalue Hardware Mullingar Midlands National Handicap Chase” race at Kilbeggan Racecourse on 12 July 2024.

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
2025 €79,280,000

TOTAL: €1,468,184,981
(€1.46 Billion)

Thoroughbred horses slaughtered in Ireland

2023: 1,428
2022: 1,050
2021: 1,105
2020: 1,549
2019: 2,218
2018: 2,526
2017: 2,829
2016: 2,952