A spectatorless Melbourne Cup has been marred by the death of Irish stallion Anthony Van Dyck, with the horse euthanased after breaking down during the race with a fetlock fracture.
Key points:
- The stallion suffered a fractured fetlock, which is a joint low down on a horse’s leg
- Anthony Van Dyck was loaded into a horse ambulance on the track but had to be euthanased soon after
- Animal rights activists says the death highlights systemic cruelty in the horse racing industry
The five-year-old stallion, which was one of the early favourites to take out the 2020 Melbourne Cup, had pulled up with 350 metres to go and was loaded onto a horse ambulance on the track.
Racing Victoria’s executive general manager of integrity services, Jamie Stier, later confirmed the horse had suffered a fracture to its fetlock and had been euthanased.
“The horse received immediate veterinary care, however, he was unable to be saved due to the nature of the injury sustained,” Mr Stier said.
“Our sympathies are extended to the owners of Anthony Van Dyck, trainer Aidan O’Brien and all his staff who cared for the horse and are greatly saddened by their loss.”
Tiger Moth, trained by O’Brien’s father Aidan, finished second, with Prince of Arran placing for the third consecutive year.
This year’s Melbourne Cup played out at Flemington Racecourse with just 1,500 people on site, with spectators, horse owners and connections barred from attending due to coronavirus restrictions.
A report will now be prepared by the Racing Victoria integrity services team into Anthony Van Dyck’s death.
“The fatality report gives consideration to the circumstances of the incident and any potential learnings to assist in the prevention of similar injuries in the future,” Mr Stier said.
“The report will include the findings of a post-mortem which will now be conducted by the University of Melbourne Veterinary Clinic and we expect it will be several weeks before we have a completed report.”
Anthony Van Dyck won the Epsom Derby last year and finished second in the Caufield Cup a fortnight ago.
The horse was carrying 58.5 kilograms and was being ridden by jockey Hugh Bowman, who was uninjured.
The horse’s death is the second racing fatality at Flemington Racecourse in 2020, in the 21 race meetings held at the track so far.
Other horses that have died on Melbourne Cup Day in recent years include The Cliffsofmoher in 2018 (broken shoulder), Verema (euthanased on track in 2013), Admire Rakti (suffered a heart attack in his stall in 2014), Araldo (euthanased after breaking his leg post-race in 2014), Red Cadeaux (euthanased two weeks after falling in 2015) and Regal Monarch (euthanased after a fall in Race Four of 2017).
Animal rights activists say death highlights ‘abusive’ racing industry
The Australian Greens animal welfare spokesperson Mehreen Faruqi said Anthony Van Dyck’s death was a “tragic but hardly unforeseeable outcome”.
“Seven horses have now died as a result of the last eight Melbourne Cup races,” Senator Faruqi said.
“Horse racing is deadly and completely inhumane. We need to shut this industry down.”
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) spokeswoman Emily Rice said the horse was a victim of “the disgrace that stops the nation”.
“The reality of the abusive racing industry is that horses are made to run to the detriment of their health,” she said.
“Before they’ve even finished maturing, these 500-kilogram animals — supported on ankles as small as those of humans — are pushed past their limits, forced to race at breakneck speeds to the finishing line while being whipped.”
Ms Rice called for Anthony Van Dyck’s veterinary records to be released following the investigation.
Kristin Leigh from the Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses said the horses were viewed as objects to make a profit and were being pushed too hard.
“Victorians do know what’s happening and they do care,” she said.
“As much as people are going through hard times I still think they don’t want to see animals abused and being killed in the name of gambling products.
The Victoria Racing Club said it would continue to work with the industry to understand the cause of the incident.
“The Club remains totally committed to the welfare of all equine athletes and the ongoing focus on their wellbeing,” the VRC said on Twitter.
The RSPCA’s Liz Walker said the death of Anthony Van Dyck was extremely sad and a thorough investigation was essential.
“The frequency of catastrophic injury in the Melbourne Cup is of grave concern to the RSPCA and the community at large,” she said.
She said changes must be made so it cannot happen again and so that the community can understand what is being done to minimise the risk to horses.
“The first step must be to have transparency on what the injuries are, where they’re happening and what is contributing to that,” she said.
“So that there can be very clear endeavour to make sure the horses are prepared, the tracks are prepared and the whole race is built around making sure that the horses and the jockeys are kept very safe.”
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