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Warning: this article contains an image that may be distressing to some people.
After the storm, the consequences come.
Racing has endured a flood of unwanted headlines after a photo was posted on social media of lead coach Gordon Elliott sitting on a dead racehorse.
The image was tagged hideous and abhorrent, with the damage compounded by an equally disgusting video of jockey Rob James in another courtyard.
On Friday, the 43-year-old Irishman Elliott was banned for a year, six months of which were suspended.
There are unanswered questions, issues the sport must address and a renewed focus on equine welfare with the Cheltenham Festival and Grand National meetings looming …
Who is Gordon Elliott?
An accomplished amateur jockey who did not come from a racing background, he later became the youngest coach to win the Grand National, at age 29, when Silver Birch triumphed in 2007.
From the purpose-built stables he owns in County Meath, Elliott challenged Willie Mullins’ dominance, won the Cheltenham Gold Cup with Don Cossack in 2016, and was the meeting’s most successful coach for two years in a row.
If any horse is indicative of his ability, it is Tiger Roll, a diminutive hurdler who became a two-time national winner and is aiming for a fifth victory at the Cheltenham Festival next month.
“It absolutely breaks my heart to read and hear people say that I don’t respect my horses. That couldn’t be further from the truth.” he told the Racing Post Monday.
Elliott said he received a phone call and sat on the dead horse “without thinking,” but his first statement and a subsequent tweet celebrating four winners in Punchestown drew further criticism.
What’s next for him?
The punishment means the horses can’t race under their name until August, but they are likely to compete for another trainer from the same Cullentra stables, where around 80 employees are located.
He does not intend to appeal against the sanction, which excludes him from several important meetings, including Cheltenham, Aintree and Punchestown.
Elliott’s empire, built from the ground up for 15 years, has been seriously damaged by the controversy.
Their undefeated rising star, Envoi Allen, was one of eight horses that Cheveley Park Stud owners transferred to other trainers, and two sponsors have retired.
Main sponsor Michael O’Leary, the Ryanair boss who runs Gigginstown House Stud with his brother Eddie, has pledged his support, though they are gradually withdrawing from the sport anyway.
“I’m paying a high price for my mistake, but I have no complaints,” Elliott said.
“It breaks my heart to see the damage I have caused to my colleagues, family, friends and followers. I have a long way to go, but I will serve my sentence and then rebuild better.”
The British Horse Racing Authority said it was “shocked” by the photography and that Elliott’s behavior “profoundly undermined” the welfare values of the industry.
In the photo, Elliott straddles the Gigginstown-owned racehorse Morgan, which had suffered a heart attack while galloping. A caption says “new working rider”.
Posted on social media nearly two years after it was taken, it looks like a deliberate act to harm Elliott, a “concerted attack” according to the Irish Horse Racing Regulatory Board panel.
His sentence says that the photo suggests that he “cruelly participated in posing for a photograph that, under all the circumstances, was totally inappropriate.”
What it does not address are several unanswered questions.
Who took the picture? Who was it sent to? Who is the person who is a little off the scene? Who was Elliott talking to on the phone? Are any of those people still working in careers?
‘Angry, sad and ashamed’
What infuriated many at the races is that they felt that the photo and video undid their hard work by telling people that racehorses are much loved animals.
Those outside of the sport wonder about their “culture” and what really goes on behind the scenes.
Trainers, owners, and riders shared a #fortheloveofthehorses hashtag that showcases countless examples of well-groomed horses, but who may have been heavily preaching to converts.
Top ex jockey Ruby Walsh He said the episode left him angry, sad and embarrassed.
“They always taught me that the duty of caring for the animal is as much when it is dead as when it is alive,” he said.
The image has rekindled the debate about the sport itself. Is it necessary for the races to become more involved with its critics, those who call it cruel?
Discussions on career channels regularly visit the topic of wellness, but discussions are almost always limited to insiders.
Scottish trainer Lucinda Russell, a 2017 Grand National winner with One For Arthur, was so taken by the photo that she even apologized to the horses in her care.
“Well, I think it’s wrong to have that image of racing, I mean it’s not like that, we love our horses,” he said.
And now what to do with the races?
These have been a dark few days for racing, which in the UK is the second-largest spectator sport behind football and a £ 3.5 billion industry.
There are around 14,000 racehorses in 550 licensed training yards and another 3,500 people employed in the breeding industry.
Last year’s figures from the BHA show that there were 86 fatal injuries in jumping races of 25,188 runners at a rate of 0.34%.
“It breaks your heart and there have been times when I’ve lost horses in my career and it really makes you question if this is the game for you after all,” said former jockey Lizzie Kelly.
More than two years have passed since Former BHA CEO Nick Rust Boldly announced plans for a data-driven show jumping risk model and a review of penalties for breaking rules on the use of whips by jockeys.
They are still works in progress.
What will happen to Cheltenham and Aintree?
Anticipation is building for the upcoming Cheltenham Festival, although this year’s enthusiasm has been tempered by controversy.
There will be mixed emotions if any of the horses previously trained by Elliott wins, with licensed trainer Denise ‘Sneezy’ Foster. inclined to intervene while suspended.
Elliott has already spoken with Envoi Allen’s trainer, Henry from Bromhead, and wished him well.
The Grand National in Aintree is on April 10, an event that attracts millions of viewers and all concerned await the safest possible outcome.
A week ago, Elliott could have dreamed of having a fourth win in this year’s famous race. That was before seven stormy days that won’t be easily forgotten.
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