The 2016 Grand National will give plenty of fuel to animal rights campaigners protesting against horseracing, after four steeds dropped dead mid-event.
While the main race -- which saw 19-year-old jockey David Mullins riding 33-1 shot Rule The World to victory -- passed by without incident, the event's other races were where the horses suffered life-ending injuries.
Two of the four horses died after falling on their heads, according to British publication Metro, while the other two stumbled on a notoriously difficult jump known as Becher's Brook.
The number of horses killed during races at the Grand National events since 2000 is now 42.
Animal rights activists picketed the event in protest at the harsh treatment of race horses, with news of the deaths only angering them further.
Animal Aid horseracing consultant Dene Stansall says race organisers had been trying to convince the public that horse deaths were "a rarity" on the Ainstree course used by the Grand National.
"History shows that -- over the long term -- the Grand National course continues to be a perversely harsh test for horses, and one that often proves lethal," he said.
"Making horses race on that course does not add up to a sporting spectacle, but the most selfish form of animal abuse."
Newshub.
