BHA understood to be unhappy at failure to seek adequate comment, as well as replaying precise instances of deaths

The deaths of three horses in less than an hour at Cheltenham on Sunday, including Abuffalosoldier, who collapsed as ITV Racing’s reporter in the pull-up area was concluding a post-victory interview with his jockey, brought the track’s November meeting to a miserable conclusion after two days that were full of positivity and promise for the winter campaign ahead.

The loss of Bangers And Cash, Abuffalosoldier and Napper Tandy in races being shown live on the main ITV channel also highlighted the occasional but inevitably harsh reality of racing, and jump racing in particular, to an audience with little or no interest in the sport, as ITN decided to cover “the triple-tragedy at Cheltenham” as an item on their main evening bulletin.

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