Kilbeggan Racecourse has been criticised after two horses who were put down after being injured while racing were left lying on the ground for four days.
Fianna Fáil councillor Michael Regan says he was horrified when he visited the Co Westmeath course on Tuesday to find the two carcasses lying on grass beside stables.
The Galway councillor, who is a racehorse owner, said the horses had been put down on Friday. "At a time when there is such an effort to prevent the likes of foot-and-mouth and other diseases, it is just not good enough that two dead horses are just left lying there. The gates of the racecourse were open when I went there at lunchtime on Tuesday. Children or anyone else could have walked in," he said.
A spokesperson for Kilbeggan racecourse said an unfortunate sequence of events had led to the incident. Friday's race meeting was the last of the year and staff had been given time off until Tuesday. The horses were due to be taken away on Saturday but a new driver arrived at the track.
"He went to a different area of the racecourse and presumed that somebody else had taken them away. The matter was not noticed until staff returned on Tuesday morning. They immediately contacted the company and the horses were removed," said the spokesperson, who said that the horses were located in an area away from public access.