Protesters standing beside cardboard gravestones at the re-run of the Perth Cup say the death of a horse during the New Year's Day race can't be swept under the rug.
WA's highest-profile horse race, held at Ascot Racecourse on January 1, was abandoned mid-event after two horses fell to the turf in front of around 10,000 spectators.
West Australian mare Chili Is Hot had to be euthanised at the track, while the other horse involved in the fall, Dom To Shoot, suffered abrasions and a leg injury.
Cardboard gravestones with “RIP” printed above the names of horses were pitched into the grass outside Ascot Racecourse at the rescheduled event on Saturday.
Over a loudspeaker, Emma Madle from the Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses, listed names of racehorses and the age they died, while dozens of protesters chanted "dead".
“When you have these large public events and people can see what happens, the industry can’t sweep it under the rug,” she said.
“There was another horse that died at Belmont two days after Chili Is Hot, but it was during training, so no one heard about it.
“A horse dies every 2.5 days, you just don’t hear about it unless it’s a high-profile event.
“I think the public will be much more on our side, much more understanding about our mission to end racing, as a result of the sad death two weeks ago.”
Timothy Green said he was spurred to attend the protest after the death of Chili Is Hot.
“It’s tragic,” he said.
“There’s an obvious injustice going on towards the horses and we the people need to stand up against this injustice.”
Perth Racing is conducting an investigation into the incident and has defended the sport's equine welfare record.
The two jockeys involved were not injured, but a third, Joseph Azzopardi, was suspended for six weeks after pleading guilty to a charge of riding carelessly.
Crowd number were significantly lower than usual for the rescheduled event, which is considered one of the most prominent on Perth's racing calendar.
Tina, a punter visiting from Melbourne, said while she doesn't follow horseracing, the Perth Cup was a social outing.
“It's just coming out and spending time with the family and doing something different,” she said.
Tina said she had heard about the death two weeks ago.
“I do find it sad when things do happen like that, it doesn’t leave a good feeling in your stomach so hopefully nothing happens today,” she said.
