The cruelty of horse racing is becoming impossible to ignore

After three horses died at Cheltenham on Sunday, the reaction was depressingly predictable. The cameras cut away and the horse racing industry pretended to be shocked and upset that more horses had died on its watch.

Abuffalosoldier and Bangers And Cash – two of the horses who died at Cheltenham – appear to have suffered heart attacks. A third, Napper Tandy, took a fatal fall during the Greatwood Hurdle race.

The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) described the trio of deaths as ‘a tragedy’ and said the horses’ owners will be ‘heartbroken’. The Daily Mail reported that ‘the shocking nature of the incident(s) left the ITV presenting crew…visibly upset…Viewers described the scene as ‘unwatchable’ and ‘devastating’.’

If racing bosses, or fans, really were shocked, they cannot have been paying much attention to the sport: 2,902 horses have died on UK courses since 2007. Many die in training, too.