Trainer Gordon Elliott spoke to the Racing Post on Tuesday about the fallout from an image that went viral on social media this weekend. The three-time Grand National-winning trainer has been banned from racing in Britain, and is under investigation by the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board due to the nature of the photograph, in which Elliott appears astride a stricken horse on the ground while making a peace sign. Some versions of the image have the caption “New work rider.”
The trainer said he deeply regrets the actions depicted in the photograph, which the Paulick Report has elected not to publish.
“It is indefensible,” Elliott told the Racing Post. “Whether alive or dead, the horse was entitled to dignity. A moment of madness that I am going to have to spend the rest of my life paying for and that my staff are suffering for.
“My heart goes out to all my staff. I know how hard they work. I know that I have not only let them down but that I have let the whole racing industry down too. That is down to my stupidity and I am truly, truly sorry.”
Read more at the Racing Post.
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