Brian May warns ‘barbaric’ Grand National ‘must clean up its act’ | Celebrity News | Showbiz & TV

Queen guitarist Brian May, 75, has warned “the Grand National will now be condemned to death” unless it seriously “cleans up its act”.

The musician took to Instagram a few hours ago to express his frustrations in view of his 3.1 million followers.

Brian shared some of ITV’s coverage of the famous sporting occasion, where three men could be seen criticising those protesting the event and arguing in favour of the race.

“THREE MEN try to convince us that the Grand National horse race ISN’T a barbaric anachronism,” Brian wrote angrily.

“I don’t imagine that many of you have the time to go deeply into this. I don’t expect a huge number of likes for this post. Nevertheless, I think some things need to be said.

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He went on to slam the clip from ITV, which showed the three men discussing the sport while the race was delayed on Saturday.

The brief delay came as a large group of animal rights protesters forced their way into the Aintree grounds to disrupt the event.

Police are said to have arrested 118 people on suspicion of offences including criminal damage and causing public nuisance following the protests.

Brian fumed that, during this time, ITV did not recongnise that “protesters might have some good reasons to be protesting.”

“What am I posting this?” Brian continued. “Because I think what they say is very revealing of the mentality of those who defend the Grand National as a sporting event.”

He then went on to argue that the claim racehorses are “unbelievably well cared-for“ in their daily lives was irrelevant, as it did not address “whether they should be forced into a chaotic gruelling race in which they may suffer terrible injuries or die.”

Brian also took issue with the idea that horses dying in the race is simply an “unfortunate” occurance, saying: “I think the words I would use would be ‘unforgivable’, or ‘unacceptable’.

“What kind of people are these, who could prioritise entertainment and money-making over the life of even ONE animal, never mind the continuous stream of horses that have died in the sport over the years?”

In another post, which showed a blurry photo of the huge crowd, Brian raged at the notion that this race was the horses’ “purpose in life”.

“So what would that purpose be? Oh yes – to risk their lives entertaining humans and making them money?” Brian penned.

He then argued that horses ought to be “free from slavery, coercion, and unnecessary physical and mental pain” before referencing Hill Sixteen, a horse that died after entering a race where his “chances of thriving were vanishingly small.”

“The poor horse fell to his death at the very first hurdle,” Brian lamented, before branding it a “shameful day.”

In the final clip Brian shared, a reporter could be heard saying that police were being contacted over the protests and stating that the “race will not be run while there is any danger to any of the participants.”

“How wrong that turned out to be,” Brian stated. “I believe questions must now be asked in the House after this particularly black day, as to whether the Grand National should be allowed to proceed.

“I believe the Grand National will now be condemned to death unless it immediately cleans up its act.

“The simple act of removing the hurdles from the course would dramatically lessen the danger to all horses. And the sad spectacle of this outdated carnage will be rightly consigned to history.”

Express.co.uk has contacted ITV and Aintree Racecourse for comment.