Dear Ed... We should all take a moment to consider what our money may be funding when we have a flutter on the Grand National.
Between 2000 and 2010, 31 horses died at the annual three-day meeting at Aintree. In 2010 alone, five horses were killed, a fact that went largely unreported amid the hype surrounding the Grand National.
The punishing event is Britain’s longest horse race, four miles and 856 yards where the horses have to jump 30 formidable obstacles, some with perilous drops, ditches and sharp turns.
It is an excessively crowded field with 40 horses, adding to the risk of collisions and falls.
Horse racing is funded by punters’ betting money and racecourse attendance fees.
Animal Aid’s message is simple: don’t fund the cruelty by not betting on the Grand National. It may only a harmless flutter, but horses could pay with their lives.
Fiona Pereira
Animal Aid
Tonbridge, Kent, TN9 1AW
www.animalaid.org.uk
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