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Surely a ban isn’t neccessary, because if the said newspaper feels so strongly about the race then, on moral grounds they shouldn’t give it any publicity next year, and, if they do they are being hypocritical. But, then again, like Animal Aid they’ll be hoping to find they have something detrimental to print afterwards.
- Total Posts 17716
Racing is a minority sport competing against the cash cow
I’d back a horse against a cow any day of the week. And less of the "minority sport", please. Racing is second only to fu’bar in the number of spectators it attracts to live events over the year – and that’s without taking into account ATR and RUK figures.
This "minority sport" mindset (
"we’ll do anything for some printed publicity!"
) is both harmful, and unnecessary. Take a look around the internet if you think there’s no racing coverage.
Good news is no news. Racing is mainly good news. That’s why the printed Press (frankly desperate to sell hard copy) are only interested when bad things [are perceived to] happen.
But I think we’ve had this debate before…
155,000 people turned up for the three days of Aintree, Pinza. 240,000 at Cheltenham. Only the top six or seven football teams get that level of support over three or four matches – and I’m being generous by including potential supporters unable to get tickets.
Minority sport? Badminton is a minority sport, but as you say, sir, we’ve been down this road on here times many.
The Press? Not been the same with racing since Savill tried to make them pay for the racecards – possibly his most idiotic action in a reign of many idiotic actions.
I do wonder what the reaction would of been like if the two horses had not died. I know for sure we wouldn’t be having this discussion, the phone ins wouldn’t of happened and the column inches would not have swelled to pages worth.
I do wonder what the reaction would of been like if the two horses had not died. I know for sure we wouldn’t be having this discussion, the phone ins wouldn’t of happened and the column inches would not have swelled to pages worth.
orangefleece,
Horse have died in previous years but their deaths have not been followed by discussions on the news, the one show, this morning etc phone ins on a myriad of stations, column inches swelled by the issue and even morality threads by cormack on here but the difference this time was they by-passed two fences during the race.
I think perhaps there is a lack of ‘bad’ news for the tabloids to use at the moment. I work for the NHS
and even The Observer will put a health issue on the front page that has been known for a long time and is then written about in an out of context way thereby frightening a lot of people. I have, personally struggled with NH racing this year, but then saw a race yesterday at Southwell where a horse broke down badly as it went past the winning post. This didn’t/won’t make the headlines. I think someone mentioned that, if people are concerned about seeing horses injured they should watch sports such as polo; I’m sure I read that polo ponies suffer quite bad injuries on a regular basis but no one writes articles/shows photos of that.
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I think perhaps there is a lack of ‘bad’ news for the tabloids to use at the moment.
Looked at another way, there is so
much
bad news (for employees in the remnant of the Public Sector) that the tabloids daren’t cover it. Thus they grabbed at the National with both grubby hands, on the principle that a change is as good as a rest.
You’re absolutely right about the attrition rate on polo ponies, which is monstrously high. Polo has been under attack for many years from the Animal Aiders, but they get nowhere with it, because that sport gets zilch national TV coverage, and provides no mileage for press and public furore – despite the highly bankable
"nobs"
angle.
NH Racing is a soft and easy target for these slimeballs.
The Grand National is an extreme horse race. It is a severe test for jockeys and horses. Horses and Jockeys die in this race quite regularly and hopefully will in the future as well . Many climbers die trying to climb Mt. Everest. It is extreme mountain climbing. Should climbing Everest be banned and climbers be restricted to soft dirt hills no more than 500 feet high? If you don’t test the limits of horses with extreme racing what will become of the breed in the future? If Humans aren’t willing to test their limits and face extreme challenges what will become of the Human race? The Grand National is savage, brutal and barbaric and GLORIOUS. LONG LIVE THE GRAND NATIONAL and to change it to make it softer will be a lot more tragic than the occasional death of a horse or rider. It will be a death of the spirit of horses and humans.
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