The Grand National Tomorrow.

gracesmum

According to Pete and Sea Bass for me today - enjoy the racing.

Looks like Seabass will start favourite. Hope you got a good price before the gamble started. My love affair with racing started with reading National Velvet; I never dreamed I would actually see the day that a lady jockey won riding her father's horse [on his birthday] . It would be historic. Horse has had injury problems over the years as well, a la Aldaniti [and lets not forget the millions of pounds raised for cancer research by Bob Champion over the years]. The S.O. has backed Pete. I'm not sure he'll stay and the ground is going against him. Another horses coming back after injury; wonderful northern trainer and a fairytale story about his breeding, I think, although I haven't got all the facts about that. My best win would be Vic Venturi. Clobbered by the handicapper after winning over the fences one year; now 12 years old but on a featherweight. Has been unlucky in the race twice but bred to stay and, like me, a bit of an oldie now. Can't wait to see Sprinter Sacre in the earlier race [supposed to be 'the second coming'], although the park course scares me far more than the National course.

my husbands choice , his name , well peter

my choice , treacle, and sunnyhillboy. I will say though , I do bet on national but still think it a cruel race for some of those poor horses , as a lot of the jumps are very high

Organised Confusion HAS to be for me !!!!!

I went for Katie Walsh and Sea Bass, she had a good ride. Thought she might be the first Lady Jockey to win, but there is always next time.

I put a virtual £10 each on SeaBass and On His Own..both to place. Someone tell me what I would have won?

Another two lovely horses killed at the National - Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Synchronised and According to Pete.. Synchronised threw his jockey on the gallop to the start - I wonder if he was trying to tell us something?

How on earth these owners can bear to see the empty stables I don't know. I won't back it or watch it.

heyho sunnyhill boy , you ran a very good race , you are a star . Maybe I will have better luck next time , roll on ascot although i will have been in the states for the previous few weeks but will be back in time for the last few days so who knows ?? smile

The winner has been retired on the spot. The man who lost his horse all those years ago has had something to take away the pain he felt when One Man lost his life at Aintree on a day that most racing folk agree was the saddest day in racing history. He bought Neptune Collonges back from a career threatening injury by having stem cell treatment; According to Pete came close to being put down a couple of years back after having a poisonous infection in his leg. From tears of joy for Mr Hales I went to tears of sadness for Pete's owners. As for Ascot, Nonu, rumour has it that Frankel has been retired. Sad news for flat racing fans.

As nightowl says - same for running dogs, badger baiting terriers- loved as long as the 'do the business, win and earn their money' - then discarded.
And another two have died in this year's race

So two noble creatures have lost their lives today. It just makes me very very sad.

I really don't understand why the RSPCA don't step in to do something about this barbaric treatment of horses. They can't consent to being ridden driven to their death to provide entertainment for people who want to win some money on the back of the harm that is done to them.

The horses are just looked upon as "just a machine", there to win money for the owners. Taken off the shelf to perform and, if they're lucky, put back on the shelf till next time.

I won't/can't watch it and I've had horses all my life.

I understand from reading the reports this evening that the start was a complete shambles, perhaps that upset one of the horses that had to be destroyed later.

Cruel ritual.
I am struck by the fact the comparison between the amount bet on classic races and the amount raised by big charity appeals. Comic Relief has raised 750 million in all the years it has been going (alternate years since 1985). Amount bet on one Grand National per year, 300 million.
So it is easy to see why a few valuable animals get sacrificed when that kind of money is involved.

The Racing Authorities and the RSPCA have a constant dialogue with regards to horse safety and many amendments are brought in each year to reduce risk. I know many people would like to ban racing completely, but what would happen to the thousands of horses involved? Childrens show ponies get passed on when outgrown; people buy horses on a whim and then sell them on when they lose interest. Polo ponies get hurt on a regular basis, but there is no public outcry about it because it doesn't make the news. People like me don't follow racing to win money, but to watch horses, which we think are the most beautiful creatures on the planet, run and jump, something they have been bred for many hundreds of years to do. What use do horses have in our modern society? We no longer need them to carry or troops into battle. They have become part of our leisure activities. The alternative is for them to cease to exist. Or just become part of the meat market, like cattle.

As far as I know the Grand National course is far too long and despite the modifications, the jumps are too severe. Crimson, I don't think it's a case of the race horses otherwise ceasing to exist. I believe that they should not be pushed beyond certain limits so that human beings can be entertained. As for the tears of the owner or jockey when a horse has to be put down, they are crocodile tears as far as I can see. No one who truly loves horses would put their horse's well-being at risk. Even lay-people like me know the risks. I do think it's all about the money, investment, then loss of investment when there is a fatal incident, etc.

I spoke to someone who was standing next to one of the owners of Pete when she heard the news. He says the cry that she gave will haunt him for the rest of his life. They are distraught. They bred him and they loved him, but he was bred to be a racehorse; this was his 50th race. He was their only horse. The jockey of the other horse who died didn't ride in the next race, because he was so upset. The fences have been made smaller, the quality of the horses running has improved so they are going faster and speed kills. This was all done to make it safer. Changes will be made because people in racing don't want this sort of thing to happen.

Cruel ritual indeed - I am glad I did not see it - I heard the news on the radio this morning. On a par with bullfighting it would seem.

It's obviously something wrong with the course - fences too high. Bechers Brook [or however it's spelt] has only been lowered a tiny bit - 4 inches? - and has been tapered which supposedly helps the riders spread out. Why does it have to be so flippin' high? Surely it can still be fun having it lower - and safer - for both horse and rider. It's obscene to have such obstacles and I believe it's cruelty to animals. I'm amazed the RSPCA aren't taking a stronger stance on this. I've been to flat racing and enjoyed it. I'm not a killjoy.

I really don't think that any horse race can be put on a par with bull fighting, where the entire aim is to kill the animal.

I agree phoenix but it is sad and something should be done about Beechers Brook. I don't think banning the race is the answer, change the fences. .

Been away for most of this discussion, but I just do not see the point of it at all. Just saying.

It is always sad when horses die, whether in the National, at Cheltenham or any other meeting. Horses can be injured and die on the flat, too (Erics Charm).

I am a lifelong racing fan and horse lover, yes, changes can be made but many factors need to be considered. Personally I think the field for the National is too large, that number of horses becomes a cavalry charge.