Grand National - yay or nay?

EKW said:
They have actually made the fences smaller and "safer" over the years. Not many people agree with this, I for one, as it encourages the jockeys to go faster. They know that the top 2-2.5ft of each fence is just fluffy green branches that you can go through, pull to the floor and not miss a stride. The older fences made you really sit back, get your horse jumping and were scary!

If you look at the times of the race - it's not changed much since Red Rum's day. What had changed is the each circuit is ran in pretty much an equal time. In Red Rum's era they went much slower the first circuit then went much quicker the second. The general rule of thumb was - you hunted for a circuit then raced for a circuit. Who ever was still standing at the end of the first circuit was a good jumper who was capable of racing over the fences for the next circuit.

The National is unique in it's fences. People only kick up such a fuss about it because it is the most watched race of the year. The year that Syncronised died how many people knew, or cared, that 2 horses fell and died at Sedgefield a few days later? Identical falls at the same fence at exactly the same time and completely unconnected with each other.

A run down of the day of the National for a horse goes a little something like this - Usual flumf before they arrive at the races. At some point before they are brought out to be saddled each horse will be trotted up and have it's heart listened to by a vet. Horses will be pulled out about 45mins before the race and start walking round to the pre-parade ring to be saddled. Once saddled they carry on to the main parade ring - which by this point will be absolutely packed with people - in number order-ish. Once the jockeys are up they sort out the final order and they parade in front of the stands. Then off they toddle to race.

Once back in every jockey has been pre-instructed to get off as soon as possible to allow water to be poured over the horse. There is a massive team of people and more water than you could ever dream of waiting for these horses. There are big fans that spray cold water over them too. Any horse deemed not fit to return to the winners enclosure - if it has attained a place - will not go there, simple as. Their welfare comes first. Vets will check over each and every horse and give any horse any treatment it requires. The horses are then walked off for about half an hour to cool down before heading back to their boxes.

These horses are trained to peak fitness. Each jump now has a get out option so you can go round it. There are outriders everywhere to catch loose horses and put them in holding pens until the end of the race so they are safe. Jockeys aren't stupid. They aren't going to keep going on a horse that is too tired to continue. Not only are they putting the horse in danger they are putting themselves in danger if the horse falls and thats before you get to the wrath of the stewards! Any jockey found to be continuing on a horse that should have been pulled up will be come down on like a tonne of bricks!
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Wow, all of that really is fascinating. Very interesting to hear about what goes on behind the scenes. When you say about the fences having a get out option, would you be penalised in some form for going round it instead of jumping it? And is there a limit to how many fences you can avoid jumping?
 
npage123 said:
Wow, all of that really is fascinating. Very interesting to hear about what goes on behind the scenes. When you say about the fences having a get out option, would you be penalised in some form for going round it instead of jumping it? And is there a limit to how many fences you can avoid jumping?
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You have to jump every fence. If you don't jump you are out of the race, you can't pick and choose which ones you jump. The fences used to stretch the width of the course and there was no way round them until the rest of the runners were clear and you could pull open up some of the white railing.

The only reasons you would be going round a fence and not jumping are:

1. A horse or jockey is still down and there is no room to jump at one side. Signs will be put up and flags waved to guide jockey's round or over to one half of the fence. The national fences are very wide across so if someone was down right on the inner or outer then you can still jump half of the jump.

2. You have pulled your horse up and are taking no further part in the race.

Having a get around also means that horses can avoid jumping the fence if they are loose rather than going - oh crap! Not jumping that and running along the front of the fence potentially knocking more horses and riders out of the race.
 
I like watching it. People forget more horses die in other races, eve flat races, than they do in the national. Plus if the horse doesn't want to run or jump they aren't going to. I remember seeing one horse a couple of years ago that refused point blank to leave the starting line even as every other horse galloped away. No amount of kicking made him go, saw him do the same thing a few weeks later at another race. Think he was retired after haha racing wasn't for him.
 
rachk89 said:
I like watching it. People forget more horses die in other races, eve flat races, than they do in the national. Plus if the horse doesn't want to run or jump they aren't going to. I remember seeing one horse a couple of years ago that refused point blank to leave the starting line even as every other horse galloped away. No amount of kicking made him go, saw him do the same thing a few weeks later at another race. Think he was retired after haha racing wasn't for him.
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That was Battlegroup :D Or Hammy Hamster to his friends! I looked after him at the very start of his career! He won a bumper for us nicely! He almost refused in the Scottish National a few weeks later but went in the end a couple of fences behind and was pulled up. They then took him flat racing where he galloped into the home straight looking an absolute sure fire winner. Then the jockey moved, got lower and started to scrub so Hamster downed tools and pretty much trotted home! I loved that wee horse! A big grey named King Johns Castle refused in the National a few years before that. He was 2nd the previous year but did a leg and he clearly remembered as he just wouldn't budge. I felt so sorry for the wee old man leading him up pleading with him to line up and start. They had to dismount him to get him to move in the end.
 
Noone enters a horse in the GN because they don't care about it. Race horses, or at least good ones, are treated like gods by human standards. No, they are not out grazing the fields 24/7 but then neither is Valegro. If racing was stopped the thoroughbred horse would become a rare breed cause while they are good at other stuff they are not as good as some other breed can be. Theyre hot, skinny expensive horses that need a job, and racing is just their job. Racing horses is one of the oldest sports in the world....from the very first time humans rode horses they were raced. We all ride our horses...an put far too much human emphasis on their ability. They are built to move all day every day and have huge amounts of exercise with the fastest with the most stamina being naturally the best.
 
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