A horse has died on the opening day of the Grand National Festival at Aintree.
Confirmation has been made that Envoye Special died in the 4:05pm Foxhunters’ Chase having unseated his rider.
That was James King, who was riding Envoye Special in a race for amateur jockeys only.
The horse was assessed by vets on the track, according to the Liverpool Echo, but sustained a fatal injury.
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Nine-year-old Envoye Special was running for the first time at Aintree and was trained by Keiran Burke.
Four horses died at the festival last year across the three-day event with animal rights groups calling for tighter safety measures to be put in place.
Emma Judd, head of campaigns and communications at the League Against Cruel Sports, said: “The tragic death of Envoye Special at the Randox Grand National Festival today shows how the lives of horses are being sacrificed simply for entertainment and gambling.
“It’s time for change and for a new independent regulatory body with horse welfare as its number one priority to be introduced, as well as a ban on whip use during all races.”
British Racing has invested more than £20million into veterinary activities including research and education over the past decade, report the Echo.
The news comes amid planned protests at the Liverpool venue on Saturday.
A spokesperson for Animal Rising has said its planned protest at Aintree on Grand National day is "the first of a campaign of events over the summer".
Speaking to talkSPORT, Alex Lockwood of the Extinction Rebellion offshoot said: "We want to go there and stop the harm and what we are asking people to do is come and join us from 9.30am outside of the gates and protest, as we are allowed to do, and see if we can disrupt the race.
"We don't believe that horse racing is right and we want to stop the harm.
"We don't think it is right that business goes on as usual when animals are being harmed. We are sorry for the disruption but we stand by our morals. We believe horse racing is a dying industry - we're helping it into retirement.
"We could stand outside and be polite and hand out fliers, but that has never stopped anything. We need to have a massive public conversation about our relationship with animals and this is the first of a campaign of events over the summer to really bring attention to, and shine a spotlight on, our treatment of animals."
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