Grand National horse killed in horror fall as jockey taken away in ambulance

There were horror scenes on the first day of this year's race meeting

A horse has been killed on the first day of this year's Grand National meeting.

Willy De Houelle suffered a fatal fall in the second race at Aintree on Thursday afternoon, with jockey Rachael Blackmore taken away in an ambulance after the horror incident.

Two other horses fell during the race - the Boodles Anniversary 4-Y-O Juvenile Hurdle - and are both thought to be OK, but four-year-old Willy De Houlle, an early faller, died from his injuries.

Issuing an update after the race, ITV Racing presenter Ed Chamberlin said: “Rachael Blackmore walked into the ambulance, looked pretty sore doing so. Hopefully she will be OK. News on her horse as soon as we get it.”

He later added: “More now on our last race I’m afraid, news has filtered through that Willy De Houelle, I’m afraid, suffered a fatal injury in that race.

"Our thoughts with the Richis (owners), we hope Rachael is OK and Willie Mullins, that will take the gloss off of him winning that contest. That’s sad news coming out of the Juvenile Hurdle.”

Willy De Houelle is the first horse to die at this year's race meeting, but 66 horses have been killed at the event since 2000.

Following the tragic news, Animal Aid Campaigns Manager, Nina Copleston-Hawkens said: "The racing industry has been marketing the Grand National meeting recently as ‘the greatest story in sport’ – in what world is that remotely possible?

"This is not ‘the greatest story in sport’, this is a hellish nightmare, where innocent animals are dying of heart attacks and broken legs and broken backs and discarded once no longer of use. No amount of champagne, fancy outfits or clever marketing can disguise this for what it is – animal cruelty, on an industrial scale."