LIVERPOOL, England (RockedBuzz via Reuters) – The start of the annual Grand National horse race was briefly delayed on Saturday after a large group of animal rights protesters forced their way onto the Aintree ground to disrupt one of the sporting events in highest profile in Britain.
Police said they arrested 118 people on charges of offenses including criminal damage and public harassment after protesters tried to climb over the perimeter fence and access the track to prevent the 40 horses from starting the race.
Officers were seen pinning some protesters in pink tops to the ground while others were pulled down the stairs. Television footage showed some protesters arriving on the runway and trying to latch on to a fence, before being dragged away by officers.
The race eventually started 14 minutes after the scheduled time of 1615 GMT, with the jockeys’ arrival causing a huge roar from the vast crowd.
“Just after 5pm a large number of protesters attempted to gain access to the course,” said Assistant Chief Constable Paul White. “Most were prevented from breaking through the border fence thanks to our planning and the work of my officers.
“I can confirm that a total of 118 people were arrested today.”
Animal rights protesters say the Grand National exploits animals for entertainment and can lead to the death of horses. The BBC said three horses died in total at the 2023 meet.
(Reporting by Kate Holton and Phil Noble; Editing by Jan Harvey, Giles Elgood, Pritha Sarkar and Clare Fallon)
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