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Although obviously sad horses lost their life I can’t help feeling omitting the two fences was unsatisfactory and took something away from the race. They have always managed in previous years to still jump the fences, they are very wide and by not doing so made the fatalities the centre of attention and helped create some bad publicity for the sport on the front pages of the papers.
I can’t remember anyone ever criticising in previous years when the fences have still been jumped with little or no incident.It wasn’t the greatest advert for the National yesterday and bypassing fences was unprecedented – indeed a few years ago they couldn’t have done it. A hot day, quick ground and a headlong gallop is always a recipe for casualties.
In the past they have been able to winch fatalities to the side of the course in time for the second circuit. It looked like they were still trying to treat Dooney’s Gate at Bechers, but it was a pity they couldn’t have got poor Ornais out of the way.
What total nonsense. Safety is paramount in racing and rightly so, absolutely nothing to do with being PC. They didn’t jump The fence before Bechers, and Bechers itself, today because of horses that had fallen on the first circuit. You can’t have the situation where the fences still had to be jumped as that might have made a bad situation worse.
If you are only ever going to jump Bechers once, it stops being ‘the National’ and becomes just another handicap chase where fences get missed out for various reasons.
The National is the ultimate test, once you start messing with it for ‘safety reasons’ it is no longer the National. Did one horse fall at The Chair over the entire three days? I didn’t see one come down. The fence is packed so loosely now that it isn’t even a serious test. You can pretend that the top foot and a half doesn’t even exist for all intent and purpose.
My opinion is that you either take the National as it is or dispense with it. They have managed for more than a century and a half jumping all the fences, and i’ve NEVER seen a stricken horse from the previous circuit bring down a runner later in the race. I agreed with having the run outs for loose horses but if they are going to use them to circumvent the fences then I for one am just not going to bother seeing the National as a special reason to have a bet any more. My selection fell at the second, and the only reason horses fall nowadays is because of the size of the field. Watch them limit the race to 30 runners over the next few years … I guarantee it will happen.Both casualties were on the extreme inside/outside so those fences could easily have been jumped; they just wanted to exercise their new bypassing structure. I told my dad when they first put them in place that the first moment they get a chance to use them; they will and it was really unnecessary. Half of the fence could have been cornered off and the runners could easily have jumped the other half, giving the viewers something else to look at rather than dead horses. It did take a lot away from the race which is a shame.
Hell i remember in the Becher they bypassed a fence because a jockey, right on the very inside was still on the ground! Okay they can’t really move him, but there is still A LOT of fence that could have been jumped. They just wanted SO badly to use this new unneeded novelty they have it’s silly.
In any other race, if a horse is dead on the landing side of the fence, you don’t jump that fence next time round.
The National is dangerous enough without making it more dangerous by having horses negotiate dead ones in order to preserve ‘integrity’
Be as over-dramatic as you like, by-passing the fences is absolutely the right thing to do.
In any other race, if a horse is dead on the landing side of the fence, you don’t jump that fence next time round.
The National is dangerous enough without making it more dangerous by having horses negotiate dead ones in order to preserve ‘integrity’
Be as over-dramatic as you like, by-passing the fences is absolutely the right thing to do.
It’s not so much the making it safer for me, it is the diluting of our heritage. From seeing Stonehenge wired off to all bar nomads, down to the Epsom straight sold off to those who can afford it and promotional material stuck across jocks butts.
The race is starting to take second place to selling product and being used as a promotion piece for health and safety. The grandstand looks like a bloody Oddbins outlet.
Like I said, you take the race as it is or get rid of it. I see no in-between in the matter. The Nationalis
what it is (was?), take it or leave it.
Although obviously sad horses lost their life I can’t help feeling omitting the two fences was unsatisfactory and took something away from the race. They have always managed in previous years to still jump the fences, they are very wide and by not doing so made the fatalities the centre of attention and helped create some bad publicity for the sport on the front pages of the papers.
I can’t remember anyone ever criticising in previous years when the fences have still been jumped with little or no incident.the fences used to be wider, the racing course did too but with moderations and allowing bypsses available for loose horses they have narrowed the racing track, and with 40 runners well they are bound to cause more pile ups being possible as they all bunch up. as we saw at bechers this year
in past theyve always jumper middle to outer but now the fences are not as wide
vf
If ‘heritage’ comes from a racecourse being badly laid out from the outset, you can keep it.
If ‘heritage’ comes from a racecourse being badly laid out from the outset, you can keep it.
Would you include the Derby, our premier classic, in that assessment Anthony? Horatio Nelson and Coshocton were not pleasant on the eye, but Tattenham Corner plus the violent camber on the straight will cause such things with inexperienced 3yos.
I’d say the opposite, if all racing were run on 9f flat ovals then you could certainly keep that.
Once racing stops being a spectacle, i’ll give up even watching it.If ‘heritage’ comes from a racecourse being badly laid out from the outset, you can keep it.
Would you include the Derby, our premier classic, in that assessment Anthony? Horatio Nelson and Coshocton were not pleasant on the eye, but Tattenham Corner plus the violent camber on the straight will cause such things with inexperienced 3yos.
I’d say the opposite, if all racing were run on 9f flat ovals then you could certainly keep that.
Once racing stops being a spectacle, i’ll give up even watching it.Have there been many incidents at Epsom over the years?
I’d have thought not being a 9f oval, the chances of horses coming round again to find a dead horse are pretty slim.Why not run the National between two church steeples? After all, we’ve got to uphold tradition.
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