Animal Rights Groups Protest at Freedom Park Demanding Ban on Horse Racing

Animal rights activists gathered at Freedom Park on Saturday to demand a state-wide ban on horse racing following the death and subsequent euthanasia of a racehorse named Knotty Cruise. The demonstration, organized by the Bengaluru Brigade for Animal Liberation (BBAL) and Erase Horseracing India, drew heavy footfall as multiple animal welfare organizations united to oppose the industry.

According to Nitharshini Rajagopal, President of Erase Horseracing India, Knotty Cruise suffered a leg fracture during a race at the Bangalore Turf Club on July 12 and was euthanised shortly after due to the severity of her injury. Demonstrators highlighted that 228 horses were reported dead at the Bangalore Turf Club between April 2018 and March 2025, pointing to broader welfare concerns across the racing sector.

At Freedom Park, protesters carried placards and banners while displaying symbolic tombstones inscribed with the names of horses that had died at the Bangalore Turf Club. The program included speeches, public interviews, slogan chanting, a candlelight tribute, and a street play that depicted the life of Knotty Cruise from her early separation from her mother to her fatal final race. Organisers also conducted a campaign encouraging attendees to email the Chief Minister requesting legislative action against horse racing.

Rajagopal stated that horse racing involves systemic animal abuse, citing whipping, drugging, and mouth bits that cause extreme pain and suffocation at high speeds. She explained that while wild horses spend over 60 percent of their day grazing, racehorses are confined to 12-foot by 12-foot concrete stalls for 21 to 23 hours every day. Dillip, an organiser with the Bengaluru Brigade for Animal Liberation, said human mindsets have reduced horses to mere entertainment props, noting that horses are forced into exploitation without willing participation.

Sanjiv, another organiser at the protest, stated that the campaign would continue until horse racing is abolished, adding that no animal exists for entertainment or gambling. The participating animal rights groups also reiterated their opposition to the proposed relocation of the Bangalore Turf Club to Kunigal.