Grand National Festival 2024 – Giovinco and Pikar Have Died on Day Two

Giovinco and Pikar have died at the Grand National Festival after they were forced to race.

More lives will be claimed as long as horses are exploited for this national disgrace. Sixty-five horses have already died at the Grand National since 2000 – as many as four died in the 2023 race.

The Race Is a National Disgrace

At around 4.5 miles long, the headline Grand National race is one of the longest and most hazardous in the world – the high-risk factor is what makes it famous. Almost every year, horses are killed during the three-day festival, sustaining horrific and often fatal injuries at notorious fences such as The Chair, Becher’s Brook, and the Canal Turn.

Grand National Horse Deaths

Every time horses are forced to jump over these excessively high obstacles, it places tremendous pressure on their slender front legs, which puts them at risk of breaking their legs, neck, or back.

In some cases, drugs – both legal and illegal – have been administered by trainers and even veterinarians to mask injured horses’ pain. Instead of recuperating, they are forced to run, making them more vulnerable to further life-threatening injuries.

After the Race

Even those who make it off the track alive are likely to suffer. Thousands of horses – including Thoroughbreds pushed to exhaustion and those who don’t “make the grade” – are discarded like used betting slips every year.

They’re abandoned, neglected, or sold for slaughter – their flesh ending up either in dog or cat food or as “prime cuts” for human consumption in Asia or Europe.

BBC One’s Panorama: The Dark Side of Horse Racing – which features undercover footage from animal protection group Animal Aid – revealed that thousands of horses formerly used for racing from the UK and Ireland were sent to abattoirs every year. PETA has exposed how thousands of Thoroughbreds endure a terrifying journey to South Korea, where the racing industry sends them to be slaughtered and sold for meat when they’re no longer profitable.

Help Horses Forced to Race

As long as companies sponsor this deadly race, horses will continue to die. Please, take to X and use our action alert to urge sponsors to withdraw their financial support immediately: