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BHA Will Not “Be Coerced Into Any Activity By Threats Of Protests” And Will Not Debate With Activist Group

Ahead of next week's Royal Ascot meeting, the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) will not take part in a nationally televised debate with Animal Rising, the organisation announced on Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, animal activist group Animal Rising reportedly stated at a Wednesday press conference they would “pause” their protest activity this summer if UK racing's leaders took part in such a debate.

BHA chief executive Julie Harrington said, “At a press conference today, Animal Rising said they will cease their protest activity this summer if British racing agrees to take part in a public debate about 'the morals of horseracing'. We will never allow British horseracing to be coerced into any activity by threats of protests.”

Protestors had previously disrupted the Grand National, and Scottish Grand National this spring. Prior to the G1 Betfred Derby, Animal Rising claimed they would not attempt to enter the racecourse once the Derby was under way, but one member did so and was arrested on the track.

She added, “Animal Rising have shown by their reckless actions at the Epsom Derby that their public promises cannot be trusted. They have demonstrated they are prepared to commit potentially unlawful acts and to directly threaten the safety of horses and people to generate publicity around their wider aims. These aims include the end of all use of animals by human beings.

“Spokespeople for the sport have already taken part in well over an hour of televised debate since April. Throughout those debates the message was clear–that British racing is a sport which is proud of its welfare record, which provides an unparalleled quality of life for the 20,000 horses that compete each year, and which constantly works to minimise the levels of avoidable risk.

“Once again I call on Animal Rising to end their reckless acts against a sport legally enjoyed by millions of people every year.”

At the end of May, Epsom was granted an injunction against protestors prior to the G1 Betfred Derby Festival, and officials at Ascot said they would not be seeking a similar injunction “at this time” last week.

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Multiple Arrests But Derby Off On Time

Thirty-one protesters were arrested at Epsom on Saturday for attempting to disrupt the Derby, including 12 in the grounds, 11 during early-morning raids on residential addresses, and another eight in a vehicle close to Epsom.

A male protestor from the pressure group Animal Rising was rapidly apprehended after breaking onto the Epsom track near the two-furlong marker shortly after the Derby runners had jumped from the stalls, while a woman was handcuffed on the ground after attempting to jump the fence from the grandstand side while the race was still in progress.

A spokesman for Surrey Police said, “We can confirm that 31 people have been arrested in connection with planned criminal activity at the Epsom Derby Festival this afternoon.

“Eleven people were arrested at addresses in Mitcham and Byfleet in the early hours, following warrants based on intelligence received ahead of the Epsom Derby Festival. A further eight people were arrested after their vehicle was stopped on Canons Lane in Burgh Heath at around 10.20am this morning. All were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit public nuisance and remain in police custody.

“A total of 12 people have been arrested within the Epsom Downs racecourse since the event began this morning, also in connection with planned criminal activity. One man was arrested after he ran onto the racetrack after a race had started. He was quickly removed by event security and police officers, meaning the race was not disrupted.”

Chief Superintendent Clive Davies added, “Our officers and event security responded quickly and decisively after a man ran on to the racetrack after a race had begun.

“We will not tolerate criminal behaviour which puts lives in danger, including those of the animals, jockeys, security staff and our officers.”

Eight days prior to the Derby, the Jockey Club, which owns Epsom Downs Racecourse among its portfolio of 15 tracks in Britain, was granted a High Court injunction to outlaw intentionally disruptive behaviour during the two-day race meeting, which was conducted amid significantly heightened security and an enhanced police presence. In the lead-up to the Derby, the protest group Animal Rising had publicly threatened to halt or delay the race. The protesters had been offered a place near the entrance to the racecourse to conduct a peaceful protest.

“Our security teams and the police acted swiftly and decisively to remove an Animal Rising protester who entered the racetrack after the Derby had started and while the race was being run,” said Nevin Truesdale, chief executive of The Jockey Club.

“This reckless and illegal behaviour which threatened the safety of our equine and human athletes is a breach of the High Court injunction which The Jockey Club obtained last week and prohibits trespass. The court order provides a clear route to prosecution, fines and even the threat of prison for Contempt of Court and we will now take steps to enforce that.”

He continued, “Animal Rising have repeatedly stated that they would not attempt to disrupt any races while in progress and we utterly condemn their deplorable and mindless actions today.

“The Derby was first run in 1780 and has continued despite two world wars, the COVID pandemic, and a number of other extreme challenges. That the 244th running of the race was able to take place on time today is testament to the determination of everyone to stage one of British sport's most iconic and loved events.”

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Multiple Arrests in Pre-Dawn Raids on Derby Day

Police acting on intelligence received in connection to potential disruption at the Derby at Epsom have arrested 19 people in pre-dawn raids on Saturday.

According to Surrey Police,11 people were arrested at addresses in Mitcham and Byfleet in the early hours of the morning following warrants being issued.

A further eight people were arrested after a vehicle was stopped in Burgh Heath, close to Epsom Downs, at about 10.20am.

The arrests were made on suspicion of conspiracy to commit public nuisance and the 19 people remain in police custody.

Last Friday, the Jockey Club, which owns Epsom Downs Racecourse among its portfolio of 15 tracks in Britain, was granted a High Court injunction to outlaw intentionally disruptive behaviour during the two-day Derby meeting, which is being conducted amid significantly heightened security and an enhanced police presence. In the lead-up to the Derby, the protest group Animal Rising had publicly threatened to halt or delay the race, which this year is being run at the earlier time of 1.30pm to avoid a clash with the FA Cup final.

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LA Times Columnist John Cherwa Joins Writers’ Room

Los Angeles Times columnist John Cherwa has seen a lot in just a handful of years on the Southern California racing beat, and Wednesday morning he joined the TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland to discuss the past, present and future of racing in the Golden State. Calling in via Zoom as the Green Group Guest of the Week, Cherwa talked about the progress in Santa Anita's safety record, the top 3-year-olds on the west coast and the effect of last week's protest at Golden Gate Fields.

“I wrote tens of thousands of words on the horse breakdowns at Santa Anita,” Cherwa recalled. “I was on the phone with a source who was at the track when Battle of Midway went down and then it just mushroomed from there. Last week at Golden Gate, you saw where protesters went on the track over some recent deaths there. At that point, there were five deaths. One was a sudden death, which was probably a heart attack. There were only two what we call breakdowns. At a similar point in 2019 at Santa Anita, there were 20. I think a lot has been done [since], mostly I think through pre-race evaluations. If you watch the Los Alamitos races on Friday, Saturday and Sunday night, you'll see a lot of scratches, and a lot of those are because of pre-race evaluations. So I think the progress has been immense. However, until the number [of deaths] becomes zero, it's never enough [for anti-racing protestors]. And zero is, in many terms, unattainable number.”

Asked about the challenges to presenting the sport for a national audience, Cherwa said his dispassionate approach to racing has led to some backlash both from within the industry and outside of it, but that having only covered racing for a few years affords him a fresh view of things.

“I get hate mail from a lot of the horse racing people because I cover horse deaths and things like that,” he said “I get threats from the animal rights activists because I'm not covering it enough. I've even gotten death threats from the animal rights people. Frankly, no one is covering that more than I have, not because I want to, but because it is a big story in California. The fact that I'm kind of new to this myself, means that I'm learning along with my audience and I do on a lot of things. I've got like three or four, I'll just call them sources, that I will call all the time to have them explain something to me just to make sure of what I think I know.”

Elsewhere on the podcast, in a jam-packed West Point Thoroughbreds news segment, the writers discussed the first sentencing domino to fall from last year's indictments, the official news of Gulfstream adding a Tapeta surface that first broke on the show back in December, and the Golden Gate protests. Click here to watch the podcast; click here for the audio-only version.

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