Cheltenham Festival horse death toll as animal rights campaigners want end to 'horror show'

All eyes are on Prestbury Park this week as Cheltenham Festival returns.

The prestigious festival, one of the highlights of the horse racing calendar, will see punters coming from all over as they try to beat the bookies while watching some of the UK's finest racing talent in action.

Many more will be following it all at home as the runners and riders bid for glory in several high-profile races at Prestbury Park, including the world-famous Gold Cup on Friday. The meeting is also well-known for its significant prize money, which is second only to the Grand National.

However, while thousands of punters will descend on Cheltenham this week, the festival has come under fire in recent years for its record of horse deaths, which animal right activists have said is "horrific and unacceptable".

But how many horses have died at the festival, and what is causing these deaths?

Since 2000, a total of 70 horses have lost their lives as a result of racing at Cheltenham.

The latest tragedy came on the opening day of the 2022 festival, when Shallwehaveonemore died after falling at the final fence of the Sky Bet Supreme Novices' Hurdle - the first race of this year's event. While the racecourse medical team were quick to attend the fall, the decision was taken to put the horse down given the injuries.

The tragedy has led animal groups to renew their calls for an end to the world-famous festival.

Over the last five festivals, 15 horses have died, while there were 11 deaths in a single week back in 2006 - including a record six in one day of racing. The number of deaths each year since 2000 is as follows:

Dene Stansall, horse racing consultant for Animal Aid: "Seeing Shallwehaveonemore fall was a tragedy that is repeated year-on-year at