The Cheltenham Festival gets underway today as all eyes turn to Prestbury Park.
Millions of pounds will change hands on each of the four days of the festival as punters try their luck to beat the bookies.
The festival is considered by many as the pinnacle of the National Hunt racing calendar in the UK as racing fans flock from all four corners with the prize money up for grabs second only to the Grand National.
The meeting will feature several Grade 1 races where the best race horses in the UK and Ireland will battle it out in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, Queen Mother Champion Chase and more.
The most prestigious meeting of the National Hunt season will see Ireland and Britain reignite their rivalry with British-trained horses hoping to better their record of just five winners at last years festival.
The festival gets underway with a wide-open Supreme Novices Hurdle before superstar mare Honeysuckle goes in search of a second Champion Hurdle crown.
Celebrated by trainers, jockeys and punters alike, Cheltenham festival is not without criticism, particularly from animal right activists who claim the festival’s death toll is “unacceptable”.
How many horses have died at Cheltenham?
Since 2000, a total of 69 horses have lost their lives as a result racing.
Last year, the death of Kings Temptation, ridden by Bryan Carver, on day two of the festival in the Glenfarclas Chase drew criticism from League Against Cruel Sports.
Chris Luffingham, campaigns director, said: “The League is distressed to learn that Kings Temptation has died after suffering an injury during the Cross Country race on day two of the Cheltenham Festival.
“Around 200 horses are fatally injured on British race tracks every year and historically Cheltenham, along with Aintree, are two of the worst offenders. A total of 69 horses have now lost their lives at the Cheltenham Festival since 2000, which is simply unacceptable.
“The League is calling for tighter safety measures, the formation of an independent regulatory body with horse welfare at its heart, and a ban on the whipping of horses.”
2018 was a particularly bad year as seven horses suffered fatal injuries, the same number as in 2016.
However 2006 was the worst year for fatalities as 11 horses died throughout the festival.
Cheltenham Festival deaths 2000-2021
- 2021 - 1
- 2020 - 1
- 2019 - 3
- 2018 - 7
- 2017 - 4
- 2016 - 7
- 2015 - 2
- 2014 - 5
- 2013 - 1
- 2012 - 5
- 2011 - 1
- 2010 - 4
- 2009 - 1
- 2008 - 1
- 2007 - 2
- 2006 - 11
- 2005 - 3
- 2004 - 3
- 2003 - 3
- 2002 - 3
- 2001 - Abandoned
- 2000 - 1
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here