Magic, you have a point

Yet again two more innocent race horses die in the Grand National. As long as I live I will never bet on chase racing again and will from this day onward preach to others not to bet on these races. This is a serious matter and I dont need any smart arse comment from anybody regarding this serious state of affairs.

No jokes, ask my wife behind my back, I cried this AM when I watched them miss those two fences....I saw the 1 horse covered with tarp and the other one in the process of being put down..............

Not only that the winner was so tired after the race it looked like he was about to fall over and die...............

Horrible, horrible, horrible.

When will the English learn that being cruel to animals is NOT COOL!!!!!

I say run the Grand National, but make it over 2 1/2 miles, not 7200m!!!??!?!?!?!??!?!?!

All I can do is hope that those deaths will add fuel to the anti-Grand National sentiment, and it does exist. This garbage masquerading as a sport is past its sell-by date.

I have no problem with posters expressing their opinion of jump racing in general and/or the Grand National in particular from a cruelty point of view. Everyone is entitled to express their opinions and debate the pros and cons.

But some of the comments expressed ONLY about National Hunt racing are sanctimonious in the extreme.

As an exercise in the humanitarian treatment of animals I believe a lot of self righteous contributors might like to remove the planks from their eyes and also have a good look at thoroughbred racing and what it usually entails for horses.

Lets start off with breeding ; We have the breeding process where little or nothing that nature intended is employed. As sales time approaches a number of breeders ( with no resistance from the veterinary profession which supplies them! ) 'boost' their yearlings with steroids and keep them housed in their stables during the day whilst they are subjected to sunlamp treatment and other tricks of the trade. Ultimately producing a sort of equine equivalent of what Dr 90210 would produce - something that is pleasing on the eye of a potential buyer.

The unfortunates with birth defects and flaws are often euthenased - all things being equal probably a blessing.

And while on the subject of breeding - What do you honestly think is happening to all the 'unsolds' ? The percentage of horses unsold runs at about 30% (?) this year so they can't all be happily grazing a field somewhere whilst waiting to audition for the remake of Balck Beauty.

Once in training the young horse is quickly introduced to a diet which its system was never designed to accomodate - often resulting in ulcers and sometimes colic. The latter can be a very expensive condition to treat if surgery is required. It is generally accepted that colic seldom occurs where the animal is grazing as it would in its natural state.

A large percentage of horses are placed under 'racing stress' before they are physically mature enough to handle it. This can result in an endless variety of conditions requiring 'patching up' - usually a euphemism for the adminstration of further substances not exactly designed to give horses long and healthy lives....

As most owners will agree - the vet seems to cast a long shadow over the modern horse these days. Certainly the 'horseman' appears to have disappeared out of many racing yards in recent years and been replaced by the vet. No disrespect to the vet intended as he ( or she ) is called in by the yard.

For those with more than a passing interest in the racecourse fate of UK horses you can visit Race Horse Death Watch and peruse the statistics of all the horses which met their end on racecourses all over the UK. I don't know whether SA keeps official records other than perhaps through Stipes Reports. Nothing appears to be accurately recorded about thoroughbred horses which die away from the course.

The reality of the matter is that racing in all its disciplines is probably cruel or, at least, unkind to the animal. I think we might all be well advised to consider that premise.

As normal Garrick a great contribution.

My favourite racehorse would probably have to be Mill Reef, but to reach "hero" levels the jumpers Arkle, Dessie and Red Rum, have the edge, probably due to the danger and courage required in jump racing.

Garrick makes some valid points (as always), but none of the things that he mentions are glorified and splashed all over the public domain as a sporting event and a piece of a natiion's heritage. This in no way justifies whatever cruelty or unkindness to animals that goes on behind the scenes, but the Grand National not only condones cruelty, it turns it into a public spectacle. Does a civilzed 21st century society really need this?

I had a long chat to William Haggas when I worked for him in England as I feel the same way as the posters above.He agreed there
were too many horses are hurt and killed over jumps and it got worse as the jumps got bigger and the moderate horses could not handle
them.A huge problem was the owners wanted their horses to jump at the big festivals like Aintree when a lot of them were not good
enough. The difference in flat racing is I could run a bad maiden in the Vodacom July and he would be fine just 60 lengths behind.
Over big jumps the average horse cant do it and most often falls as he should not be running in that class of race. I also think it is run
over too far over those size jumps. Those horses look extremely distressed after the race. Anyway that is my opinion.

The scary thing is that the Grand National fences have been softened over the years, Heaven knows what they were before - Table Mountain covered in branches?

SAD SAD SAD candc I have never and will never punt on jumps it so bad in our house where all love racing that we tend to change channels when its on and NOTHING can justify these innocent horses treated like that

Modified after 2 deaths in 1989, Seeandem and Brown Trix, who both fell at Bechers when it still had a 45 degree angle drop after Bechers..prior to that the fences were first modified in 1961, to give an easier angled approach to the fences, before that they were like ''stiff bloody walls'' according to the great Fred Winter.

There is outrage in most British newspapers this morning about the Grand National and the deaths of two horses. The ex jocky, Mike Fitzgerald who was part of the commentary team described the horses lying on the ground dead as obstacles. This from a man who has made his millions from been a jockey. Dispicable.

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1375210...y-drama-Aintree.html