Every Cheltenham Festival horse death as racing mourns on Gold Cup Day | Racing | Sport
After the opening race passed without incident, Hansard sustained a fatal injury during Tuesday’s Arkle Challenge Trophy Novices’ Chase while running on the flat. After being quickly dismounted and immediately attended to by a team of expert veterinary professionals, they concluded that the best course of action for the horse’s welfare was to put him down.
HMS Seahorse fell at the final hurdle of Wednesday’s BetMGM Cup Handicap Hurdle after sustaining an injury, and vets could not save it. Thursday was the one day without any horse deaths, but then two followed during Friday’s races.
Envoi Allen completed the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup Chase, finishing ninth, but collapsed while walking to the stables. The British Horseracing Authority’s director of equine regulation, safety and welfare, James Given, said: “Such an episode is known as Exercise Associated Sudden Death and can occur in horses of all breeds when under exercise.
“In racing, it is rare, occurring in only nine in every 10,000 runs in Jump races. British racing is involved in pioneering research, including the use of wearable technology, to help better understand the causes of this and how it can be avoided.”
Saint Le Fort, like HMS Seahorse, fell at the final hurdle and sustained an injury in the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle. Vets then concluded after an assessment to euthanise the horse humanely.
The Jockey Club – organisers of the Cheltenham Festival – says it works continuously to minimise the risks at its events and says the industry has spent £63m on equine welfare since 2000.
The Jockey Club says data shows the rate of fallers in horse races has declined in all of the last 21 years and is now just 1.98% of runners. The fatal injury rate in 2025 was just 0.22% of 86,300 runners, according to its figures. A detailed review process has been introduced, which begins within 48 hours of every fatality on a racecourse.
It stated that recent improvements include changing of markers on jumps on all racecourses from orange to white, following research into equine vision; a change to padded hurdles to reduce fallers; and the introduction of a detailed review process within 48 hours of every fatality on a racecourse.
The Jockey Club said that the racing industry regularly consults with established welfare organisations such as World Horse Welfare, RSPCA and Blue Cross to ensure it continually meets the highest standards.
