At least 175 racehorses died in Australia between August 2024 and July 2025 due to injuries from racing or training, according to the latest Deathwatch Report by the Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses (CPR).
This is the highest number ever recorded since the group began tracking deaths in 2014.
This is the highest number of deaths recorded by the group since they began tracking in 2014. The report comes just one week before the Melbourne Cup, Australia’s most famous horse race.
Deaths were confirmed in every state and territory. New South Wales had the highest number with 50 deaths, followed by Victoria (40), Queensland (38), South Australia (19), Western Australia (15), Tasmania (7), and the Northern Territory (6).
The 175 deaths include horses that died on race days, during jumps and flat races, or while training. Most of the deaths were caused by serious leg injuries. 85 horses suffered fatal front limb injuries, the report states.
CPR says these numbers are likely an undercount. Many deaths that happen during training or at stables are not made public.
Many of the horses that died were very young. Over one-third of them started racing as 2-year-olds, even though their bones are not fully developed at that age. Horses typically reach full maturity around age 5 or 6.
Racing accidents, panic, and hidden injuries
The report shares examples that show the many ways racehorses die. Vivid Lights, a 3-year-old filly, died just 300 metres into her first trial on 11 February 2025 in Goulburn. A post-mortem showed her pelvis was completely shattered.
Paris Tycoon, also 3, died in her first official race on 8 July at Muswellbrook after throwing her jockey and crashing through a rail. Amont, a 5-year-old gelding, collapsed and died after finishing a race at Queanbeyan on 24 January. Vets believe he suffered a major internal blood vessel rupture.
Other horses collapsed during races despite showing signs of distress. Bay of Portland, aged 3, bled from both nostrils and died during a race at Gawler on 27 November 2024. He had been struggling early in the race but was still pushed to continue.
Midnight Minstrel, another 3-year-old, died in his first race at Pinjarrah on 3 April 2025. After being whipped in the final stretch, he panicked, ran toward the outside rail, and was wounded in the chest when he crashed through it.
Some horses had a history of behavioural issues before their deaths.
Twopence, a 4-year-old mare, had already been suspended three times for panic attacks before races. On 5 July 2025 at Wondai, she panicked at the start, ran off toward nearby bushland, crashed through a fence, and died from her injuries.
Zumikon, an 11-year-old gelding known as the “old war horse”, fell and broke a leg during a race at Cloncurry on 14 September 2024 and was euthanised.
The Inevitable, a popular 9-year-old who had earned over $2 million, collapsed and died during the Launceston Cup on 26 February 2025. His trainer had admitted before the race that the horse had a sore leg.
Veterinarian ‘pressured’ to be more flexible
The report also arrives amid controversy in Racing Victoria. The organization’s head of veterinary services, Grace Forbes, is involved in a Fair Work legal case and has alleged that she was pressured to be more “flexible” in enforcing safety rules for horses.
According to The Herald Sun, Forbes believed this was an attempt to loosen veterinary standards and allow horses to race when they should not have been cleared for racing.
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