Campaigner Caroline Butterwick looks at the victims of the Sport of Kings

To many, horse racing seems like a harmless sport, but behind this glamorous façade lies a painful reality. Out of 18,000 foals born into the British and Irish racing industries every year, only 40 per cent are considered good enough to race. Those who do not meet the mark may be slaughtered for meat or repeatedly change hands, often leading to a lifetime of neglect.

Horses kept for breeding often endure long periods in almost total isolation. For breeding males, this boring and lonely existence may go on for 20 years as they are kept separated from mares and other males when not in the breeding shed. In the wild, mares have one foal every two years, or perhaps twice every three years. The racing industry forces them to produce a foal every year. Their cycle of pregnancies is controlled with hormones and other drugs and long periods of artificial light in the winter to manipulate when they give birth.

Racing puts horses in great danger. According to national campaign group, Animal Aid, a horse dies every two days at a racecourse in Britain. Some 38 per cent of horse racing fatalities occur during, or immediately after, a race, while many others perish during training. They may have suffered from a broken leg, back, neck or pelvis; or a heart attack or burst blood vessel. Others are killed simply because they have become financially "non-viable". Most fatalities occur during national hunt (jump) racing. Traditionally, horses were selectively bred for this type of race, whereas now they are often "cast offs" from flat racing. It's no wonder then that so many horses have died on national hunt tracks in recent years.

Before you place a bet on tomorrow's Grand National, it's worth remembering that since 1997, 43 horses have died at the famous three-day meeting. Cheltenham is one of the most hazardous of Britain's 60 race courses, with 34 equine deaths since the 1999. For the thousands of horses that leave British racing every year, the future is often bleak. Like those who were never fit to race, they may face a downward spiral of neglect and, sometimes, slaughter. Their depressing fate is no surprise when you consider that the racing industry gives very little to help retired racehorses.

Animal Aid and other groups are calling for tighter regulations for horse racing to improve animal welfare. So what can you do to help? The simple answer is to stop betting. It might seem like a bit of harmless fun, but for all the deaths that occur in horse racing, is it really worth it?

For more information visit:

www.animalaid.org.uk