Activist who disrupted Grand National warns of further action ahead of Royal Ascot and the Derby

Protesters from Animal Rising stormed the race-course at Aintree on Saturday, delaying the famous steeplechase by 14 minutes
Protesters detained by police during the Grand National
PA Wire
Sami Quadri17 April 2023

An animal rights campaigner who disrupted the Grand National has pledged more protests at future races.

Police made 118 arrests, but Animal Rising said on Sunday that 42 were “de-arrested”, with no one yet charged.

After the deaths of three horses at the three-day festival, the group said it aims to start an “unignorable national conversation”.

One trainer at the race said the death of a horse was related to delays caused by the protests.

Activist Robert Gordon, who was among the protesters who stormed the race, warned of further action.

He also played down suggestions that their actions put the safety of horses at risk.

He told LBC: “It’s safe to say it’s inevitable you will see us again soon.

“…the risk wasn’t anything to do with us. These trainers know their horses. If they were worried they could have pulled from the race but they didn’t. The risk wasn’t anything to do with us.

“We were there to protect the horses.”

“Horses die every two to three days in racing. This isn’t to do with us, this is the industry itself, they are lashing out.”

Animal Rising said the “horrific, heartbreaking deaths” were the “inevitable consequence of exploiting these animals for entertainment”.

It said it would release details of its next protest action soon, with a high police presence expected at races including the Derby on June 3, and the Royal Ascot, from June 20 to 24.

On Saturday, Hill Sixteen fell at the first fence and had to be put down. Dark Raven and Envoye Special had died earlier in the meet.

The RSPCA called on the British Horseracing Authority to review the circumstances of each horse death.

PETA said 36 horses had died at the Grand National Festival since 2010.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in