Grand National

[cdbearsfan]

Got first in the worksweep and second and third at the bookies. Won about £50ish. Good stuff.

[stevenavfc]

Nice of the BBC to avoid any unpleasant references in commentary to the poor horses that died and no mention on their 'sport' web site. Shame on them

[SheffieldVillain]

Nice of the BBC to avoid any unpleasant references in commentary to the poor horses that died and no mention on their 'sport' web site.

Wrong. Fifth paragraph.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/horse_racing/9451559.stm

[richard moore]

So how many horses died this year? My Grandad who loved his weekly flutters always ignored the Grand national as he called it the cruellest race around.

I hate horse racing but particularly loathe the Grand National for this very reason.

Still, only two horses died this year....pretty good really as long as you had a nice day out or won some money

When's Wimbledon because I don't watch tennis for the other 52 weeks of the year either?

[Nev]

There's no need to put the animals through this when you can have reasonable distances and fences and still have quality races such as this years Gold Cup. I am aware that horses can suffer fatal injury in standard races, but the make-up of the GN increases the risk significantly. Following a number of deaths at Cheltenham the course management re-sited the second last fence and this is continually reviewed resulting in a reduction in the fatality rate.

With the sport in something of a crisis and Racing For Change attempting to promote a more positive image for the sport, any good work is instantly undone by this unedifying spectacle.

The fences should be downsized and the distance reduced to 3 and half miles, and while we at it, ban the whip altogether.

[mattjpa]

Oscar time for me.

thankyou very much. i had him each way on your advice....only doubled my money but damn i enjoyed the race because of his performance!

[TopDeck113]

I'm no expert in animal behaviour, but if the race is so cruel and the horses are only doing it under some form of duress, why do so many that fall/unseat their riders then carry on at full gallop, including jumping the fences?

[Somniloquism]

I'm no expert in animal behaviour, but if the race is so cruel and the horses are only doing it under some form of duress, why do so many that fall/unseat their riders then carry on at full gallop, including jumping the fences?

Because that is all they have known all their life.

I'm not against Horse racing per se but the GN fences are some of the tallest and widest in the sport and horses are more likely to fall and injure themselves on these then any other. And in this sport an injured horse is normally a dead horse as most owners will not want a horse that cannot race.

[Nev]

I'm no expert in animal behaviour, but if the race is so cruel and the horses are only doing it under some form of duress, why do so many that fall/unseat their riders then carry on at full gallop, including jumping the fences?

They are trained to jump and it's generally accepted that they do "enjoy" racing although some will run around an obstacle rather than jump it, and some refuse to run altogether as had happened at Aintree earlier this week.
The size of the fences is the issue and the animal will attempt to jump having no comprehension of the danger. The distance is also a concern and it's notable how many horses are pulled up long before the final stages. The Gold Cup is just over 3 miles and the National is four and a half, and there is a marked difference in the condition of many horses at the end of each of those races.

On a side note, the winning jockey has recieved a ban for excessive use of the whip on Ballabrigs and it's not his first this season either.

[Somniloquism]

On a side note, the winning jockey has recieved a ban for excessive use of the whip on Ballabrigs and it's not his first this season either.

Is that why the horse wasn't rode into the winning ring? Too bloodied?

[Nev]

I'm not an expert by any stretch of the imagination but I believe if the whipping leaves the horse marked then the stewards will take action including reviewing the video.

After the horse has run its bollocks off for four miles I don't believe it deserves to be whipped at all, a view shared by my dad who loves his racing and bizarrely by John McCririck. The argument for the whip is that it helps control the horse but if you look back at yesterdays race it didn't appear that the jockey was doing anything of the sort.

Maguire dismounted so that they could douse the horse with water, there was the added factor of unusually high temperatures yesterday.

[Bosco81]

Ballabriggs was dehydrated which is why Maguire jumped straight off to get some water on the horse.

The 2 horse deaths don't make good viewing especially for people who have not seen a race since this time last year.

How to make the race safer without taking away the uniqueness of the event is going to be tricky.

[Dr Butler]

Dr Butler wins the sweepstake.

Get in there........... I got first, second and fourth, cheers everyone ! 

UTV
the Doc

[Risso]

I got first, as me and just about everybody else on the Isle of Man went for the Manx owned horse.

[TopDeck113]

Do Manx horses usually win by a short tail?