There are incremental changes they could make to assist with catering the race towards it’s intended clientele.
The prize money definitely contributes to the issue in my opinion. I would halve it as a minimum, if not more and put it into the supporting races. Drive their value up.
I would increase the minimum number of chase runs required. I hate seeing runners having their sixth run over fences in the National. I think it’s begging for trouble. On top of that I would turn the minimum “runs” into minimum “completions”. The annual National each way pickers will gavitate towards a race that has recurring characters, names they recognise from the previous years or from catching the odd Saturday race.
The rule of “finishing in the first 4 in a race over 3 miles” is painfully flawed. Finish 4th beaten out of sight in a 5 runner chase and you’re qualified. Finish 5th beaten 3 lenths in a 20 runner handicap and you’re not. The rule should be to finish “placed” in a 3 mile chase utilising standard each way terms.
Ruby Walsh once suggested a rule of having to have finished in the first four in a 3 mile chase in one of your last 3 runs, which I didn’t think was the worst idea in the world, espeically if you applied the “placed” rule instead. His argument is you don’t just want the top rated, you want the best ‘in form’ rated runners.
I just don’t see how you can police a cap on runners from owners or trainers. I was pig sick seeing 10 no hopers taking up places in the 2019 renewal to make Tiger Roll’s job easier and I was keen to see a cap introduced, but I just can’t see how it can work.
I do believe ‘win and you’re in’ has scope, conceptually. However I almost feel like if you’re going to go down that route, why not go full Pertemps Final and have the race limited to qualifiers? Have a wide range of races that you must place in to qualify for a run in the Grand National? They’ve changed the race so radically already, why not experiment further? Won’t do the race any more harm.
I’m not talking about fences this year. I’ve mentioned my idea about park fences dressed in spruce enough. 