ANIMAL Aid director Andrew Tyler once again called for the Grand National to be banned after the deaths of Dooney’s Gate and Ornais.

New safety methods brought in three years ago led to two fences being omitted on the second circuit while the injured horses were attended to.

Ornais fell at the fourth and Dooneys Gate fell at the sixth, Becher’s Brook. Just 19 of the 40 starters finished the race.

Animal Aid director Andrew Tyler: “We’ve heard claims that the Aintree course is being made safer, safer, safer. No it’s not.

“The Grand National should be banned. It’s a deliberately hazardous, challenging and predictably lethal event.”

He said the race’s combination of a tightly packed field, high fences, long distance and huge crowd noise meant it was extremely dangerous for the horses taking part.

He added: “It’s a depraved spectacle, on a par with Spanish bullfighting. It is straight forward animal abuse.”

The League Against Cruel Sports said there have been 17 deaths at the National in the last 16 years.

Tony Moore, chairman of Fight Against Animal Cruelty in Europe (FAACE), said: “Whatever you do with National Hunt racing you can’t avoid horses being killed. You can’t make the Grand National better in terms of safety for the horses without getting rid of the Grand National.”

Julian Thick, managing director of Aintree, said: “All horses and riders in the Grand National have to meet very high standards set by an independent panel of experts. The Grand National is a well-organised and professional race. Only the best horses and the best jockeys are allowed to enter.”