BHA releases statement on Cheltenham Festival
Image - Cheltenham.co.uk
Following the death of five horses at the Cheltenham Festival, the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has released an official statement. The BHA also confirmed that it will not, as has previously been reported, be launching a full inquiry but will instead be following its standard procedure for such eventualities.
A spokesperson said "As with every equine injury or fatality, detailed data will be collated by the BHA, examining the type of injury in question and the context in which it took place. This is routine for the BHA and shows how, as an independent regulator, the BHA works with the racecourses to manage and reduce risk where possible, making rational and measured decisions based on data collected.”
They added: "Our long-term focus is to identify significant trends and robustly analyse the risk. Racecourses, horse racing trainers and the sport's regulator are not complacent about these risks and recognise there is always more to do to further reduce these risks."
The BSAVA has opened submissions for the BSAVA Clinical Research Abstracts 2026.
