Source:  various

Two horses collapsed and died following Saturday's running of the Scottish Grand National at Ayr. This follows the deaths of two horses on course at last week's Aintree Grand National.

The horses that died yesterday in Scotland were Regal Heights and Minella Four Star.  Minella Four Star was pulled up while Regal Heights had completed the race. The Telegraph.co.uk reports that one suffered internal bleeding while the other died of a heart attack.  

In the Aintree Grand National, which was run last weekend, two horses died on course as the result of falls.  Each horse had suffered a fatal injury.

Both races are run over long distance, exceeding four miles, and both races feature many jumping obstacles, twenty-seven at Ayr and thirty at Aintree.  

Some animal rights organizations maintain that these races are inhumane and call for an outright ban. Other groups seek alterations in the length of the races and in the obstacles jumped to promote safety.

Course officials pointed out that the deaths at the Scottish Grand National were not caused by conditions on the course; rather, they arose from an underlying predisposition and each horse could have succumbed at any time.

The Heraldscotland.com quotes Paul Struthers of the British Horseracing Authority (BHA):

 “The two horses that were sadly fatally injured during the running of the Scottish Grand National did not die because of falls.

“The British Horseracing Authority takes very seriously its responsibility for the welfare of the racehorse population and is recognised by the relevant government bodies to have a strong track record in this area.

“Racing is a sport that carries risk and our role is to work with racing to minimise the risk that horses face while racing as much as realistically possible.”

At Aintree, measures have been taken to make the course safer.  Alterations have been made on some of the most famous fences, including Becher's Brook.   In addition, bypasses have been added which allows the field to avoid fences in case of accidents.   The bypasses were used this year for the first time.

At Aintree.co.uk, Julian Thick, Managing Director of Aintree Racecourse, was quoted:

“We are desperately sad at the accidents during the running of the Grand National today and our thoughts go out to the connections of Ornais and Dooneys Gate. When a horse gets hurt, everyone is deeply upset. Safety is the first priority for the organisers of the Grand National meeting and we will redouble our efforts to make sure that everyone involved in the event – the horses, the jockeys, the spectators – is able to participate in safety and comfort. ....

“Now that the meeting is finished, we will, as always, be looking at all aspects of this year’s race to see how we can make the event safer in the future. We work closely with animal welfare organisations, such as the RSPCA and World Horse Welfare to make sure we are up to date with the latest thinking and research regarding welfare and safety. Our job is to make sure that the horses are looked after properly and that the race is run as safely as possible.”