Racehorse deaths at British racecourses are at the highest level they have been since 2014, according to the British Horseracing Authority.

From 93,004 runners last year, 202 died, changing the previously encouraging downward trend in the figure.

The 0.22 per cent rate matches the figure from 2014, up from last year, when 0.18 per cent of runners died - 167 from 91,360.

BHA chief regulatory officer Brant Dunshea has led the call to “raise our ambitions in this area.

“The government has publicly said as much, and we must consider the risk to the long-term future of the sport should equine injuries lead to public perception of the sport changing,” he said.

Great Sporting Moments: Horse Racing Show all 6 1 /6 Great Sporting Moments: Horse Racing Great Sporting Moments: Horse Racing GETTY IMAGES Great Sporting Moments: Horse Racing 1. Arkle wins the 1965 Gold cup, Cheltenham, 11 March, 1965

The greatest of all steeplechasers won Cheltenham's blue riband event three times. This second triumph was perhaps the most stunning, as he humiliated the Mill House by 20 lengths. GETTY IMAGES Great Sporting Moments: Horse Racing 2. Grundy v Bustino, Ascot, 26 July, 1975

Grundy, Europe's top three-year-old, and Bustino, the top four-year-old, left a star-studded field far behind in a blistering King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes. In the home straight, the lead changed hands repeatedly; Grundy, under Pat Eddery, eventually ground out a half-length victory; but both horses shattered the course record - and themselves. GETTY IMAGES Great Sporting Moments: Horse Racing 3. Secretariat wins the Triple Crown, Belmont, 9 June, 1973

The final leg of the great US champion's famous treble was the most spectacular. Secretariat won the Belmont Stakes by 31 lengths, and finished so strongly that it took his jockey, Ron Turcott (pictured), nearly two furlongs to pull him up. Many punters kept their winning tickets as souvenirs rather than cashing them in. GETTY IMAGES Great Sporting Moments: Horse Racing 4. Shergar's Derby, Epsom, 4 June, 1981

'Now is the time to bet like men,' wrote the racing correspondent Richard Baerlein after seeing Shergar win his debut race at Sandown. Two months later, Baerlein was counting a small fortune after Shergar romped home effortlessly at Epsom to win by a record 10-length margin. GETTY IMAGES Great Sporting Moments: Horse Racing 5. Frankie Dettori's clean sweep, Ascot, 28 September, 1996

They weren't the finest races that Dettori has won. Nonetheless, it was the day for which he will always be remembered: seven races, seven winners - and a permanent place in racing's hall of fame. GETTY IMAGES

“We must stay ahead of public opinion, and we cannot simply regulate our way to success – we all need to work together on this issue.”

Seven horses died at Cheltenham Festival last year with a review on the four-day meet warning that welfare issues threaten the sport’s future.

Racehorse deaths are back on the rise in the UK (PA)

Owners Paul and Clare Rooney, who lost Melrose Boy at the meet, have decided to remove their horses from the jump racing festival, believing the event poses a heightened risk of injury to their horses.