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That’s Lester all over, really. Three Derbys in the bag and he’s still trying to win the 2s 6d for a best-turned-out award by doing a bit of leading up. What a guy.
My Australian chums tell me that the reason there is no jumps racing any longer in significant parts of Australia is because it has been banned on the grounds of animal welfare.
The 1973 Grand National also got me in to the game. I don’t know whether to thank it or to blame it. I wrote 5 pages in my junior school diary on the Monday after about how Crisp was a better horse than Red Rum because he carried more weight. No, really.
Back then, there was not so much scrutiny or publicity of the less appealing aspects of the race (and there is not a great deal even now, but then that is partly because they have been lessened). I might have viewed it differently had that not been the case.
The Grand National might have got me into the game but it was really The Derby – later in the 1970s – that ensured I did not leave it, and the latter race still makes me go weak at the knees most years.
The attrition rate in Australian jumps racing is far worse than in the UK, Ireland or France.
They also said that those jumps races that still existed were mostly started by stalls, which implies that soft/heavy ground is not exactly frequent over there.
Perhaps it’s a bit like the kind of 4-runner summer jumps races we used to have here going back 20 years or so. One would break down and be pulled up, another two would finish lame.
…implies that soft/heavy ground is not exactly frequent over there.
Call me a genius. It is Australia, after all.
Lots of debate on the safety aspects, including just now on ATR.
But there is no disputing the race’s inherent appeal, among the public the level of interest in the race transcends anything else in the sport by a significant distance.
So what is it about the race that engenders that level of interest?
Is it simply equine bingo? The belief that, perhaps unlike other races, any horse can win, all punters on a level playing field?
Or is it the dramatic action, fallers at every fence, loose horses everywhere, commentators rattling off name after name. A kaleidoscopic, colourful, blur of sensational activity?
Or is it simply the fact that it has novelty value. There is nothing else in sport like it. Is it loved simply because of that?
We all have our views, those of us that have been brought up with a fascination for the race will have our own views on the aspects we find appealling, but there must be some common denominator that creates the attraction.
I ask because, in the (wholly correct) desire and activity to make the race safer, a thin line exists which, if crossed might kill the goose that laid the golden egg. If we understood the appeal we’d understand what could be changed without impacting that appeal.
I think it’s a combination of most of what you mention.
I also think it is a relic of a bygone age which does not have a place in the second decade of the 21st century.
Attitudes change and whereas the risks and dangers may have been acceptable in the past, opinions and tolerances have changed.
I think the attraction in the eyes of the public is the same attraction when rubberneckers slow down when there has been an accident on the motorway.
Although most will deny it they watch the race to see the falls and spills – it appeals to peoples baser elements.
It’s prolonged longevity was also enhanced by the coverage given to the event by our national broadcaster.
Now it has moved to a minority channel its appeal will rapidly diminish in the eyes of the general public.
Indeed I’m sure many of the once a year punters will not even be aware of it happening this year – the only way it may become prominent in the public eye is if the "red tops" push it hard.
I have made no secret of the fact I have moved from being a huge fan of the race, through to ambivalence and am now approaching the stage where I would be quite happy to see the back of it.
The annual cavalry charge of the Grand National is easily the best loved and most exciting race of the year to lovers of horse racing and to the general public, most of whom wouldn’t know Frankel if he kicked them on the shins.
The sheer pulsating thrill of the race (yes, including the falls and thrills and spills), easily surpasses any other racing spectacle.
It excites non-racing fans in a way that the Derby, the Ascot Festival of British Racing or the Cheltenham Festival could never hope to do.
Even people with no interest in racing will watch the Grand National because it is an institution and a great spectacle.
Long may it survive and thrive. There are sometimes fatalities and the race has been highjacked by the RSPCA and the animal rights brigade but anyone who really loves racing and its heritage should wish the Grand National nothing but good will.
Long may it survive and thrive. There are sometimes fatalities and the race has been highjacked by the RSPCA and the animal rights brigade but anyone who really loves racing and its heritage should wish the Grand National nothing but good will.
Thanks for telling me how I should feel about the national crusty
there’s me thinking it’s an anachronism that may well be regarded they same way as dog-fighting when people look back.To answer the original question, I think its partly historical, people are interested in it because their parents were and it’s still a novelty. Partly media coverage telling people they are interested in it. Partly the spectacle of the event. None of which is sustainable if the media start telling them it is cruel. It can’t be coincidence the RSPCA have renewed their rants now just as the food scandal escalates.
The Grand National the most exciting race? sorry but the 2000 Guineas is more exciting in truth.
1. The Melbourne Cup
2. The Derby
3. The Cheltenham Gold Cup
4. The Arc
5. The Breeders Cup
6. The Guineas
7. The Coventry
8. The Ascot Gold Cup
9. The Kings Stand
10. The Grand NationalIf we understood the appeal we’d understand what could be changed without impacting that appeal.
I don’t think any change, be that ‘safety’ – and pray tell me how does one ‘safen’ what is largely, like the majority of horse races, a chaotic event? – or whatever will make one jot of difference to the public-at-large who regard the race in much the same way they regard the Boat Race or Trooping The Colour: an Olde Englishe tradition but with the added spice that one is expected to have a ‘flutter’ on it
If it were to disappear tomorrow I doubt many would a) notice and b) if they did notice, care less. I place myself in the latter category, which living as I do in the Village may well result in being put in the stocks, but hey who’s afraid of a few rotten tomatoes flung their way
It’s equally traditional for this Olde Forume to set out on a long and winding Grand National debate around this time every year so in time-honoured fashion I await with bated breath for a reprise of the same old same old, or perhaps not
It doesn’t hold the same appeal for me since the immortal phrase, "now over to John Hanmer " disappeared from the airwaves.
It is our annual national televised car crash – a traditional British sporting event in which almost everyone: be they old, young, racing fans, non-racing fans, and even members of the RSPCA, will have at least one bet on the outcome.
Gambling Only Pays When You're Winning
Im with Paul and he put it well. For a little while now I have actively disliked the race.
The Grand National the most exciting race? sorry but the 2000 Guineas is more exciting in truth.
1. The Melbourne Cup
2. The Derby
3. The Cheltenham Gold Cup
4. The Arc
5. The Breeders Cup
6. The Guineas
7. The Coventry
8. The Ascot Gold Cup
9. The Kings Stand
10. The Grand National
I believe the modern vernacular is: "Yeah. Right."
Mike
I think a large part of the Grand National appeal is the perception that "Anything can win the race" and that the casual punter can have a go, shoulder to shoulder with the best form students, based on lucky numbers, names or colours that appeal. Another factor in its favour is the duration of the race compared to some of the big flat races that pass in a relative blink of an eye. The race is almost guaranteed to be incident packed, like watching an episode of The Sopranos, rather than a documentary about artist Grayson Perry. It is Casualty with horses thrown into the mix.
I have watched almost every Grand National since 1973, with a notable omission being in 1984 when I listened to the race on the radio of a Dounreay bus pulled over at the side of the road on the way to a backshift. It used to be the most heart-pounding of experiences and to suggest the Melbourne Cup is a better race to watch is something I would suggest borders on insanity for any non-Australian human being. In recent times the race has been overtaken by safety concerns and I feel it is no longer about the thrills and more about praying that there are no fatalities. I actually wouldn’t care if the race were discontinued now, it has been hijacked and become watered down to appease those who consider that horses are being cruelly used to provide entertainment.
Two facts remain indisputable about the race:-
No matter how many adjustments are made in the name of safety, horses will still die on occasion.
If the race is made redundant, animal rights campaigners will target something else within racing, probably the Cheltenham Festival, instead.
Thanks for the good crack. Time for me to move on. Be lucky.
If the race is made redundant, animal rights campaigners will target something else within racing, probably the Cheltenham Festival, instead.
Undoubtedly they will but I would argue something like the Cheltenham Festival or, indeed, national hunt racing in general is defendable.
In the case of the National I would personally struggle, in all conscience, to defend it.
hmmm Cannot see the race being dumped anytime soon , the reasons are purely levy/greed /financial gain
TBH I agree with Paul to a large extent , however it will be really interesting to see the if loss of BBC coverage will make any difference to betting turnover , ie the once a year punter
Sad though , I remember our family delaying my sisters wedding until Red Rum had crossed the line over 35 years ago , then a mad dash to the church ….would it happen today ….probably not
Ricky
there’s me thinking it’s an anachronism that may well be regarded they same way as dog-fighting when people look back.
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