BHA: Keeping horses as safe as possible at Cheltenham Festival

The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has released a short film to highlight the welfare measures that are in place at Cheltenham Festival.

The video features BHA Head of Equine Regulation, Safety & Welfare, Sally Taylor, and BHA Veterinary Officer, Amy Hawthorn, detailing the pre-race examinations, submission and analysis of medication records as well as the monitoring of horses during and after the race.

The aim of the production is to display that each runner lines up in the ‘best possible condition’ and receives the ‘highest standard of care and support’.

Concerns around animal welfare have been voiced around a number of major British racing fixtures, with protests occurring at Grand Nationals in recent years. The BHA emphasising its animal welfare efforts may be a response to these concerns.

Pre-race

“Horse welfare is of the utmost importance to everybody involved in the racing industry,” Taylor explains at the start of the film. “All horses in all races at the Cheltenham Festival are examined by the BHA regulatory vets on site before racing.”

She described this as the ‘final checkpoint’ to ensure horses are in the best possible condition.

Hawthorn then adds: “For each horse we do a standard examination which consists of a heart check, where we listen for any irregular heart rhythm. Then we have a feel of the horse’s limbs, to make sure there’s no abnormal swellings or heat.

“Then we watch the horse walking and trotting to make sure that the gate is symmetrical and there’s nothing there that makes us worry that there’s a lameness.”

The video details that if a horse is withdrawn as a result of the checks, then that horse has a welfare stop applied – deeming it ineligible to race until the trainer has complied with certain requirements.

Medical history of a horse has also been highlighted, with the BHA stressing that its veterinary team is made aware of any treatment leading up to the festival.

In-race and post-race

The horses are not only examined before, but also monitored during their races by veterinary personnel.

Taylor noted: “In particular, during the race itself there are vets traveling in the convoy following the horses so if anything was to occur they can be attended immediately.

Furthermore, as the horses pull up, they are inspected again by vets and the BHA continues to monitor them during the unsaddling period.

Hawthorn concluded: “Horses are the centre of our sport and it’s fundamentally important that we do everything in our power as an industry to protect the horse, ensure their welfare is high, and they have as good a life as possible, and that they are as safe as possible when they enter the race.”

The four-day festival is now underway as thousands of racing enthusiasts attend the Gloucestershire racecourse. As usual, the event will attract a lot of media and of course betting attention.

Relevant stakeholders have been preparing for the event for some time. Notably, last month the HorsePWR campaign was re-launched by the BHA and Great British Racing (GBR) which aims to expand the profile of horseracing to a wider audience by promoting its commitment to animal welfare.

Funded as an initiative of the Horse Welfare Board (HWB), the new HorsePWR was launched to coincide with Cheltenham Festival to generate as much public interest in horseracing as possible.

The campaign is currently running from 24 February to 6 April and features  targeted advertising across print, online, and social media platforms, as well as high-profile locations in four cities: London, Bristol, Birmingham, and Liverpool.