Grand National runner Celebre D'Allen dies after collapsing during the race

Sport

Grand National runner Celebre D'Allen dies after collapsing during the race

2025-04-08 19:46 Last Updated At：19:51

A horse that collapsed on the racecourse after running in the Grand National has died, the British Horseracing Authority confirmed on Tuesday.

Celebre D’Allen — a 125-1 outsider in the storied British jumps race on Saturday — was pulled up in the latter stages before collapsing. After receiving treatment on the course, he walked into the horse ambulance and was taken to the racecourse stables for further assessment.

The 13-year-old horse was moved on Sunday to a nearby stud connected to his owner after showing an improvement in his condition, the BHA said in a statement, but died on Monday.

BHA chief executive Brant Dunshea said his organization was “saddened” to learn of the death of Celebre D’Allen and defended its health and safety processes, before and after the running of the Grand National.

There is “an extensive process of checks to ensure a horse’s suitability to race in the National,” Dunshea said, “which also includes a review of veterinary records and assessment by a panel of experts to consider a horse’s race record and suitability to race.”

Dunshea said the BHA and Aintree racecourse will analyze the race and Celebre D’Allen’s collapse, adding that the horse will be sent for post-mortem.

Britain’s Press Association reported on Tuesday that stewards at Aintree suspended jockey Michael Nolan for 10 days after inquiring into his decision to continue to ride Celebre d’Allen after jumping the next-to-last fence in the National.

“The jockey riding him (Celebre D'Allen) to the point of collapse received a pitiful 10-day suspension,” said Iain Green, director of animal-welfare activist Animal Aid, before criticizing the decision to allow “a horse of this age to race in the most punishing and notoriously dangerous race on record.”

The Grand National has long been regarded as one of the most dangerous horse races in the world because of the size of the fences. A number of new measures — including reducing the field from 40 to 34 runners and bringing forward the race’s start time — were introduced last year in an attempt to make it safer.

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Tensions flare in Minnesota as protesters and federal agents repeatedly square off

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal officers dropped tear gas and sprayed eye irritant at activists Tuesday during another day of confrontations in Minneapolis while students miles away walked out of a suburban school to protest the Trump administration's bold immigration sweeps.

The government's immigration crackdown is next headed to a federal court where Minnesota and two mayors are asking a judge to immediately suspend the operation. No hearing has been set on the request.

Gas clouds filled a Minneapolis street near where Renee Good was fatally shot in the head by an immigration agent last week. A man scrubbed his eyes with snow and screamed for help while agents in an unmarked Jeep sprayed an orange irritant and drove away.

It's common for people to boo, taunt and blow orange whistles when they spot heavily armed agents passing through in unmarked vehicles or walking the streets, all part of a grassroots effort to warn the neighborhood and remind the government that they’re watching.

“Who doesn't have a whistle?” a man with a bag of them yelled.

Brita Anderson, who lives nearby and came to support neighborhood friends, said she was “incensed” to see agents in tactical gear and gas masks, and wondered about their purpose.

“It felt like the only reason they’d come here is to harass people,” Anderson said.

Separately, a judge heard arguments and said she would rule by Thursday or Friday on a request to restrict the use of force, such as chemical irritants, on people who are observing and recording agents' activities. Government attorneys argued that officers are acting within their authority and must protect themselves.

In Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, students protesting the immigration enforcement operation walked out of school, as students in other communities have done this week.

With the Department of Homeland Security pledging to send more than 2,000 immigration officers into Minnesota, the state, joined by Minneapolis and St. Paul, sued President Donald Trump's administration Monday to halt or limit the surge.

The lawsuit says the Department of Homeland Security is violating the First Amendment and other constitutional protections by focusing on a progressive state that favors Democrats and welcomes immigrants.

“This is, in essence, a federal invasion of the Twin Cities in Minnesota, and it must stop,” state Attorney General Keith Ellison said.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said: “What we are seeing is thousands — plural — thousands of federal agents coming into our city. And, yeah, they’re having a tremendous impact on day-to-day life.”

Dozens of protests or vigils have taken place across the U.S. to honor Good since the 37-year-old mother of three was killed.

Homeland Security says it has made more than 2,000 arrests in the state since early December and is vowing to not back down. Spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin, responding to the lawsuit, accused Minnesota officials of ignoring public safety.

“President Trump’s job is to protect the American people and enforce the law — no matter who your mayor, governor, or state attorney general is," McLaughlin said.

The Trump administration has repeatedly defended the immigration agent who shot Good, saying he acted in self-defense. But that explanation has been widely panned by Frey, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and others based on videos of the confrontation.

Two Democratic lawmakers from Massachusetts announced Tuesday they are sponsoring a bill to make it easier for people to sue and overcome immunity protections for federal officers who are accused of violating civil rights. The bill stands little chance of passage in the Republican-controlled Congress.

In Wisconsin, Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez is proposing that the state ban civil immigration enforcement around courthouses, hospitals, health clinics, schools, churches and other places. She is hoping to succeed Gov. Tony Evers, a fellow Democrat, who is not running for a third term.

“We can take a look at that, but I think banning things absolutely will ramp up the actions of our folks in Washington, D.C.,” Evers said, referring to the Trump administration. “They don’t tend to approach those things appropriately.”

Associated Press reporters Ed White in Detroit; Steve Karnowski in Minneapolis; and Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin, contributed.