Grand national

[fundy]

Probably a silly question but if the handicapper does his job correctly surely all the horses should at the same betting price.

theoretically yes, if it were a perfect science youd expect 40 horses at 33/1 or so (or less in the GN) to allow for bookies margins albeit the reality is never going to be that

 

[AmandaJR]

Unfortunately once a horse breaks it’s leg it’s near on a death sentence for a horse even more so racehorses . They are bred to run , they never stand still so you can’t traction them and that’s on top of the different way the bone structure is

https://www.equnews.com/miscellaneo...e-euthanize-horses-when-they-break-their-leg/

This explains it a bit better.

It does but perhaps from a slightly biased standpoint. It can be done and admittedly is not easy and no guarantees but to destroy a horse without even scanning to assess the possibility of recovery feels like it's all about them being a commodity.

 

[IanM]

I am not an avid race goer, but I usually watch this... when i saw the horse fall at the first, my imediate thought was that it looked really bad. The other faller got straight up and continued running.

I am torn on this... it isnt right that horses are made to risk their lives on this...but I also concede that if there were no racing, those horses would probably not be bred in the first place. I can see both sides of it, but it dosent make me feel confortable about it

 

[Deleted member 15344]

It does but perhaps from a slightly biased standpoint. It can be done and admittedly is not easy and no guarantees but to destroy a horse without even scanning to assess the possibility of recovery feels like it's all about them being a commodity.

I can understand the point of view and in a lot of cases judgments will take time but in these cases these are highly trained racehorses right on the limit - all they do is run and the bone on these types of fall shattered making it 99% impossible to repair. The judgment is always made by a specialist equine vet - and some do survive a broken leg but mainly a fracture. We had it with one of the families horses - broke their leg just trotting - it was more humane to euthanise the horse unfortunately. It’s an awful time when it happens

 

[Foxholer]

I saw an apt "poster" about shooting a footballer in the head as he broke his leg and the cost of getting him back to health and chances of playing again were slim...

I really don't understand how anyone could kill a beautiful animal because it has a broken leg...seems very wrong unless recovery is impossible.

I'm a keen horse lover! Magnificent and marvelous creatures (generally) though I've known some wonderfully daft (perhaps/probably from past experiances), some stupid (perhaps simply 'stubborn') and some nasty and evil ones too! I'm not particularly keen on the Grand National, though I have been (once) for the 'experience'. Generally, 'recovery IS impossible' from that sort of injury! GN is definitely 'the ultimate' test for jumping, but it has definitely been made 'safer' for participants in recent years.

One of the great, to me, things about horses is how trusting they are of their riders - so will 'happily' put their welfare in the hands of their trainers and jockey. That puts a lot of responsibility on those folk. I had to laugh (and still do!) at one incident, many years ago when Chatham very sensibly (?) decided its experience of the previous (faller) was not going to happen again, so refused at (or ven before) the 1st!

Btw. The analogy with footballers isn't (quite) appropriate. Footballers CAN mitigate against disasters; horses can't!

 

[Doon frae Troon]

theoretically yes, if it were a perfect science youd expect 40 horses at 33/1 or so (or less in the GN) to allow for bookies margins albeit the reality is never going to be that

I suppose all those experts [for a day] who bet on colours names etc totally skew the betting.
eg I don't gamble but my SiL put money [his] on the Par horse on my behalf.

 

[fundy]

I suppose all those experts [for a day] who bet on colours names etc totally skew the betting.
eg I don't gamble but my SiL put money [his] on the Par horse on my behalf.

not really, theres handicap races at every meeting every day and you rarely see a blanket of prices! the game within the game is keeping your horses handicap mark down so that you can then get it to win a big race/prize! lauded to some degree in horse racing circles, more than frowned upon in golfing ones!!!!!!

the distortion in prices comes more from errors by the handicapper and there being people better informed than the handicapper who are betting/laying (ie bookies, trainers, jockeys, owners etc). that said you will hear more wrong than right on what horse is well handicapped!

 

[HomerJSimpson]

It was sad to see the horse have a fatal fall on Saturday (and was it three others over the meet?) and it comes hard on the heels of Cheltenham which has had its share of horses being put down over the years. Aintree has worked hard on redesigning the fences, and every death is clearly sad. However the owners and the trainers always put the best interests of the horse first but with the possibility of something going wrong. Is it wrong to stop horses doing something they are trained to do and for the most part, seem willing to partake in. Nothing is risk free and I'd rather see a qualified practitioner give a balanced view and decide the best interest for the horse even if that makes a hard decision necessary

 

[Orikoru]

I'm a typical 'just watch the national every year' kind of guy, but I actually thought there were less fallers this year than I expected or than you usually get. Does that seem right or am I making that up? If so, perhaps evidence of them trying to make the course safer?

 

[Deleted member 1740]

I'm a typical 'just watch the national every year' kind of guy, but I actually thought there were less fallers this year than I expected or than you usually get. Does that seem right or am I making that up? If so, perhaps evidence of them trying to make the course safer?

The course has been made easier/safer and some fences smaller with better landing areas.