Horseracing fans slam ITV for ‘shocking decision’ following heartbreak

SOCIAL MEDIA users were outraged when ITV News chose to replay the moments before the deaths of three horses at Cheltenham racecourse on Sunday.

A trio of racehorses sadly lost their lives in distressing scenes on the final day of the November meeting – which was broadcast live on ITV earlier in the afternoon.

And racing fans were left angry after the broadcaster chose to show replays of upsetting incidents in their Teatime News bulletin.

One clip showed the moments immediately before race winner Abuffalosoldier collapsed with jockey Sean Bowen was still onboard following his post-race interview.

While another showed the shocking moment Ben Pauling-trained Bangers And Cash appeared to suffer a heart attack before collapsing earlier in the same race – even circling the horse as it fell.

ITV News then showed Napper Tandy’s fall in the Greatwood Hurdle, less then an hour later, after which the horse was sadly put down.

The distressing footage was aired alongside an interview with an Animal Rising protestor who believed in putting a stop to the sport altogether.

Both editorial decisions came under fire from X, formerly known as Twitter, users.

One commenter said: “What on earth is ITV News doing showing a replay of a horse having a heart attack mid-race? What purpose does that serve? Shocking editorial decision.”

Another added: “Why the F*** are ITV News running a story supporting banning horse racing? You lot literally air it on ITV Racing.”

ITV is one year into a three-year deal to show free-to-air coverage of UK horse racing until the end of 2026.

But they still chose to broadcast the ‘distressing’ news segment, which was introduced by anchor Shehab Khan with a warning.

He said: “A warning, you may find some of the images in Chris Scudder’s report upsetting.”

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Unhappy viewers described the segment, which was produced by a different editorial team to the ITV Racing coverage earlier that day, as “unwatchable” and “distressing”.

An ITV Racing interview with Liam Kearns, a veterinary surgeon for the Jockey Club, was also part of the report.

Kearns said: “It’s a high-risk sport for the horses and the humans.

“Every time there’s an exertional event there is a risk. In the welfare situation all these horses are thoroughly checked out at home.

“They won’t come to the races unless they are in good shape.

“We strive to continue to reduce avoidable risk in our sport. All factual data relating to fatal injury rates in British racing can be found at www.horsepwer.co.uk and the overall fatal injury rate in Jump Racing is 0.42 per cent of runners.”

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