protests

Ahead of next week's Royal Ascot meeting, the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) will not take part in a nationally televised debate with Animal Rising, the organisation announced on Wednesday. Earlier in the day, animal activist group Animal Rising reportedly stated at a Wednesday press conference they would "pause" their protest activity this summer if UK racing's leaders took part in such a debate. BHA chief executive Julie Harrington said, "At a press conference today, Animal Rising said they will cease their protest activity this summer if British racing agrees to...

Thirty-one protesters were arrested at Epsom on Saturday for attempting to disrupt the Derby, including 12 in the grounds, 11 during early-morning raids on residential addresses, and another eight in a vehicle close to Epsom.  A male protestor from the pressure group Animal Rising was rapidly apprehended after breaking onto the Epsom track near the two-furlong marker shortly after the Derby runners had jumped from the stalls, while a woman was handcuffed on the ground after attempting to jump the fence from the grandstand side while the race was still...

Police acting on intelligence received in connection to potential disruption at the Derby at Epsom have arrested 19 people in pre-dawn raids on Saturday. According to Surrey Police,11 people were arrested at addresses in Mitcham and Byfleet in the early hours of the morning following warrants being issued. A further eight people were arrested after a vehicle was stopped in Burgh Heath, close to Epsom Downs, at about 10.20am. The arrests were made on suspicion of conspiracy to commit public nuisance and the 19 people remain in police custody. Last...

Los Angeles Times columnist John Cherwa has seen a lot in just a handful of years on the Southern California racing beat, and Wednesday morning he joined the TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland to discuss the past, present and future of racing in the Golden State. Calling in via Zoom as the Green Group Guest of the Week, Cherwa talked about the progress in Santa Anita's safety record, the top 3-year-olds on the west coast and the effect of last week's protest at Golden Gate Fields. "I wrote...

With the running of the Kentucky Derby just over two days away, Churchill Downs has issued "A Message To Our Community From Churchill Downs." We are publishing the message in its entirety: The Kentucky Derby has been run every year for the past 145 years. It is a great American tradition that has survived depressions, wars, pandemics and myriad changes in our country, large and small. The first Derby was run just ten years after the end of the Civil War and the end of slavery in America. Over ninety...