Death of four horses at Newton Abbot racecourse 'not linked', investigation finds

The death of four horses at a fixture at Newton Abbot were not linked and each had "unique circumstances" surrounding them, an investigation has found.

Four horses died at the event held at Newton Abbot racecourse on Tuesday 25 June, believed to be the highest death toll for a single afternoon of horse racing since 2007.

The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has since worked closely with colleagues at Newton Abbot, to best understand the circumstances behind each incident.

On Wednesday 3 July it issued a statement, following an inspection of the racecourse and an assessment of its maintenance records.

A statement released by the BHA said: "The BHA’s Racecourse and Facilities Manager is satisfied that there was no issue with the racing surface or any other facility at the track that caused these incidents.

"This followed an inspection of conditions at Newton Abbot and a thorough assessment of the track’s racing surface maintenance records.

"While the individual equine fatality reviews are ongoing, it has been determined that each injury was sustained in unique circumstances and there appears to be no external factor linking them.

"Newton Abbot’s record demonstrates how rare such occurrences are; in the last two full years, 2022 and 2023, a total of 1,524 runners competed at the track, resulting in three fatalities (defined as a horse being fatally injured as a direct result of their injuries on the raceday or within 48 hours of the raceday).

"This equates to a fatal injury rate of 0.20%, below the current national Jumps average of 0.42%.

"In addition, a detailed investigation of the circumstances surrounding each fatality is being conducted by the Fatality Review Group.

"This process follows every fatality on all racedays."