If I had been going to give betting advice on the Grand National I might well have chosen Synchronised, winner of the Cheltenham Gold Cup. In fact the horse unseated its rider on the way to the start, delaying it for several minutes, then fell at Becher's Brook, unseating the poor blighter again. Synchronised, however, got up and started running down the course again. Then he was captured and put down. Another horse was put down, having broken its neck.
Last year two horses were also put down, and at the Cheltenham Festival in March five horses were put down.
I am not an expert on this, and therefore sometimes distrust my own opinions, but I do believe this has to be looked at, and pretty carefully. I have the impression, perhaps wrong, that horses are being put down because they can no longer race, rather than 'putting them out of their misery', and I'm sure other people have that impression, too. In part, a civilisation can be judged on how it treats its animals, and Britain prides itself on scoring very highly in this category.
Let's hope that pride is not misplaced. Full investigation, please.
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