Iceland Foods chief exec on horse meat scandal (17Feb13) [05:34]
Malcolm Walker, the chief executive of Iceland Foods talks about the continued scandal of horse meat found in British food. Recorded from BBC1's Andrew Marr ...
Grand National Fences To Be Made Safer. [02:11]
Fences at this year's Grand National are being made safer in the biggest change in the history of the race. They are among a number of measures aimed at dealing with accusations of animal cruelty after eight horses died in the last decade. Last year the joint favourite and Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Synchronised had to be put down after falling at fence six of the Grand National - the infamous Becher's Brook - and continuing riderless until suffering leg fractures. The death, along with that of outsider According to Pete, who was brought down at the same fence on the second circuit, led to calls from animal welfare groups for the Grand National to be banned. The new fences are still covered in spruce but wooden posts have been replaced by a softer material known as "plastic birch". Aintree racecourse manager Andrew Tulloch described the birch as "horse friendly", telling Sky News "safety at Aintree is always our top priority for riders and horses and it's something we do not stand still on". He said the changes should make the Grand National safer but not any easier, insisting the fences will remain the same height. "The outward appearance of these fences will remain the same. "The big change here is that traditionally where they had a timber frame to them that timber frame has been replaced by a plastic, more forgiving, birch and on top of that birch there's a minimum of fourteen, maybe even sixteen inches of spruce and the spruce is what the horses can knock off," he ...
The Races TV | 1 Feb 2013 | Launch episode [05:20]
In this launch episode of The Races TV, we catch up with trainer Andrew Gluyas and Stuart Gower's son Jack steps in for his Dad for a preview of Morphettville's form for Saturday 2 February 2013, including the Queen Adelaide Stakes.
Eclipse Insider: Rashard Lewis [00:54]
NBA star Rashard Lewis explains what initially drew him to the sport of horse racing and how winning a race as an owner compares with making a game-winning three-pointer.
1998 Woodward Stakes [02:37]
Skip Away raced into thoroughbred history yesterday when he won the 45th Woodward Stakes at Belmont Park against an all-star field. With the victory, his ninth straight, he drew ever closer to the stature and the money record of the great Cigar. Skip Away, the durable gray 5-year-old purchased three years ago for $22000 by the trainer Sonny Hine for his wife, Carolyn, won by a length and three-quarters over Gentlemen, the 6-year-old iron horse from Argentina, with Running Stag third, Free House fourth and Coronado's Quest fifth and last. Coronado's Quest, the only 3-year-old in the field, saw his five-race winning streak end. Jerry Bailey, who won his fourth Woodward Stakes and his third in the last four years, including two aboard Cigar, was asked to rank Skip Away and Cigar. ''It's like having two kids,'' he said. ''Which one do you love most?'' Sonny Hine, clamoring for respect for his horse for months, said: ''He is some horse, the best there is. He is one of the best I've ever seen. He is so brilliant.'' Carolyn Hine said, ''We want him to get the respect he deserves.'' Richard Mandella, the California trainer whose Dare and Go ended Cigar's winning streak at 16 two years ago, led the cheers for his Gentlemen but acknowledged Skip Away's achievement. ''At the top of the stretch, I thought we had a big chance to win this one,'' Mandella said. ''But Skip Away just got away from us. He showed everyone just how much of a tremendous horse he is.'' Shug McGaughey, the ...