:yahoo: ONE WEEK TO GO...

 

 

....please tell me i'm not the only one here that's actually interested?

 

 

You're not the only one who is interested in the Grand National. I am.

 

Looking forward to seeing 2012 Cheltenham Gold Cup winner, Synchronised take his place in the Grand National. First Gold Cup winner to run in the Grand National in the same year since 1995 which was Master Oats.

 

Also the three-day meeting, Big Bucks going for his 17th win in a row over hurdles on the opening day in the Liverpool Hurdle.

 

Current odds for the Grand National with Coral

Synchronised 6-1f

Junior 8-1

On His Own 10-1 Ruby Walsh said today that he will ride this horse

Ballabriggs 12-1

Cappa Bleu 12-1

Chicago Grey 12-1

West End Rocker 12-1

Treacle 12-1

Burton Port 12-1 (will probably run in the Betfair Bowl instead)

Seabass 14-1

Sunnyhillboy 14-1

Becauseicouldn'tsee 16-1

Shakalakaboomboom 20-1

Killyglen 20-1

Organisedconfusion 20-1

Giles Cross 20-1

The Midnight Club 20-1

Always Right 25-1

Calagry Bay 25-1

Neptune Collonges 25-1

Planet Of Sound 25-1

Always Waining 25-1

Alfa Beat 25-1

Weird Al 33-1

According To Pete 33-1

Le Beau Bai 33-1

Quiscover Fontaine 33-1

State Of Play 33-1

Rare Bob 40-1

Roulez Cool 40-1

Mon Mome 40-1

Black Apalachi 40-1

Midnight Chase 40-1

 

Synchronised...

 

I might put £5 on the horse.

First day over, a relatively easy win for Big Buck's (as expected), and also 50/1 shot Follow the Plan fending off the likes of Burton Port and Medermit (NOT QUITE as expected). I have Champion Court and Albertas Run down to win on Friday, and I hope Fabalu can score a place in the Topham

 

My thoughts go out to the connections of the two horses (Gottany O's and Our Father) we lost during Thursday's meeting. I just hope we can get through the next 2 days without anything like this happening again, the last thing racing needs is more negative media coverage :(

Edited April 13, 201213 yr by SevenSeize

I've got the Postmaster and Vic Venturi in the sweepstake at work, don't think I'll be making any winnings!!

I've got £2 on Calgary Bay at 40/1 and £2 on Seabass at 12/1 (though it's currently 9/1 and might start as the favourite).

 

My longshot picks:

 

Quiscover Fontaine, Always Right, Weird Al, Midnight Haze

 

Confidence bet:

 

becauseicouldntsee

 

Good luck to anyone who has had a bet, as always it's a lottery.

I've placed bets on Seabass and Synchronised whilst on the works sweepstake, I've got Calgary Bay.

I had 3 each way bets on Neptune Collonges, On His Own and Tharawat - all picked by a random number generator! And Neptune won!! :cheer:

According to Pete and Gold Cup 2012 winner Syncronised have unfortunately had to be put down.

 

I can't believe the latter raced. It was a bad call from the owner to satisfy the punters, and unfortunately a very costly one. RIP.

According to Pete and Gold Cup 2012 winner Syncronised have unfortunately had to be put down.

 

I can't believe the latter raced. It was a bad call from the owner to satisfy the punters, and unfortunately a very costly one. RIP.

 

Such a shame about this :( And I agree, Synchronised would have been tired out after running around the course just minutes before the race.

Such a shame about this :( And I agree, Synchronised would have been tired out after running around the course just minutes before the race.

 

Wasn't that it was tired. It just looked uncomortable. There was no way after running away at the start of the race that it would have had a chance of winning, as it is highly unlikely that horses ever do once that happens. When AP showed the horse the fences it looked nervous, Very bad call from the owner for it to run, I doubt it would have run had it not been amongst the favourites.

Well, what to say....

 

Nice to see Paul Nicholls finally get a National winner. It was only a few years ago some people were saying French breds don't win, and now we've had two French bred winners in four years! Had 2 quid each way on West End Rocker and Planet of Sound, so my picks were a bit of a disaster to say the least

 

But we all know what the real disaster was. Felt really upset and deflated after hearing about the two fatalities, APT looked like he had a proper chance before being brough down :( And the connections of Synchro must be feeling terrible after this, surely they knew the risk of entering him after the Gold Cup, especially seeing what happened with him before the race? Heard about Frankel as well, really hope he's ok

 

I expect quite a few differences to be made to the race next year

 

 

Well, what to say....

 

Nice to see Paul Nicholls finally get a National winner. It was only a few years ago some people were saying French breds don't win, and now we've had two French bred winners in four years! Had 2 quid each way on West End Rocker and Planet of Sound, so my picks were a bit of a disaster to say the least

 

But we all know what the real disaster was. Felt really upset and deflated after hearing about the two fatalities, APT looked like he had a proper chance before being brough down :( And the connections of Synchro must be feeling terrible after this, surely they knew the risk of entering him after the Gold Cup, especially seeing what happened with him before the race? Heard about Frankel as well, really hope he's ok

 

I expect quite a few differences to be made to the race next year

 

I've read on Twitter the news about Frankel is premature. Not going to retire, at least not yet.

 

ATP was jumping really well, but that's what happens in the National, other horses make mistakes and if you're unlucky enough to be behind them it can have consequenses. The safety measures have obviously helped. It's a dangerous track, the owners known what chance they're taking when they're entering the horses in to the race. It's always sad to see a horse being put down, but it's much less painless for them if they go there and then, then suffer the consequenses of rehabilitation from a broken limb.

 

The Daily Mail brigade are already out in force though. They're bloody idiots.

Something will have to be done to improve safety next year.

 

Very sad news about Synchronised and According To Pete :( I had According To Pete. I got 4th with Cappa Bleu but to be honest I really not bothered about it because of what happened today.

 

Also jockey, Noel Fehily has been sidelined with a broken leg after being unseated by State of Play at the 5th fence, that's why the screens were up

 

A great finish though but tainted by Cheltenham Gold Cup winner passing away in the race and the town of Norton, North Yorkshire in devastation over the death of According To Pete.

 

 

What now for the National?

Quite frankly in my opinion something needs to be done about the National as this is the second year running that two horses have been euthanised because of the race. I am no fan of it but I'm not against horse racing per se but when a circuit causes this many fatalities surely questions must be asked. Every time a horse is put down you get the usual 'oh isn't it sad' comments from those in the sport yet not enough is done to change things. The horses are what makes the sport and yet somehow they seem entirely expendable and the changes made since last year were clealy insufficient. Imagine if the Monaco GP claimed the lives of two drivers in two years or sections of the Tour De France took two cyclists. How much would change then?

 

Maybe I'm in a minority in making no real distinction between the value of human or animal life or maybe I'm ignorant of certain facts but it just seems to me the public and the sport (not the individual owners perhaps) show little genuine regard for the animals that their livlehood depends upon.

Quite frankly in my opinion something needs to be done about the National as this is the second year running that two horses have been euthanised because of the race. I am no fan of it but I'm not against horse racing per se but when a circuit causes this many fatalities surely questions must be asked. Every time a horse is put down you get the usual 'oh isn't it sad' comments from those in the sport yet not enough is done to change things. The horses are what makes the sport and yet somehow they seem entirely expendable and the changes made since last year were clealy insufficient. Imagine if the Monaco GP claimed the lives of two drivers in two years or sections of the Tour De France took two cyclists. How much would change then?

 

Maybe I'm in a minority in making no real distinction between the value of human or animal life or maybe I'm ignorant of certain facts but it just seems to me the public and the sport (not the individual owners perhaps) show little genuine regard for the animals that their livlehood depends upon.

 

Changes were made to the cirucit this year, and they did the job imo. According To Pete was a sad fatality, but it happens sometimes. It's the nature and potential danger of the race. Syncronised should never have been allowed to race. It wasn't the fault of the track, the horse was not correct mentally for the race. The owners should have pulled him out of the race. I imagine if they were a 100-1 shot, they would have been. But there would have been a lot of unhappy punters had Syncronised not raced. Changes are being made every day to the support to increase the safety not only for the horses, but for the jockeys aswell. It's only one day a year when people want horse racing banned. What people don't understand is race horses, and especially top class ones are treated like spoilt little children. They are treated perfectly and are given the best life possible. They have an amazingly quality of life. And they are never put down because they won't be able to race - they're purely put down for ethical reasons. Horses are at a severe risk of pnuemonia if they have an operation to repair a broken leg for example. It's a much less painless way for them to die because the horses are still feeling the effects of the race so the pain will have not hit them yet. Horses have been dying for years, upon years at the National, it's only last year when the pictures showed the dead horses that the fuss really kicked off. The hashtag brigade have just chosen this to be their desired topic for the day.

Don't get me wrong, I understand completely that of a horse suffers a fracture or broken/shattered bone then the humane thing to do is to put them down. The very nature of a horse's anatomy means it's virtually impossible for them to continue in anything other than distress. I get that. I neither dispute that any form of racing carries some risks. Also I don't use Twitter so have no interest in what you call the hashtag brigade are saying. This isn't something I'm following sheeplike it is something I've been saying since I was about 12 (many moons ago!).

 

My problem with it is the set-up and course of the National itself. Steeplechases are inherently far more dangerous than flat races and the course at Aintree particularly so. There are too many runners, some of the jumps are too severe and this is simply a recipe for disaster. I'm not saying they're not working on it simply that not enough has been done so far. I find it simply unacceptable that the excitement and income generated by he race justifies the deaths of so many horses over the years.

Don't get me wrong, I understand completely that of a horse suffers a fracture or broken/shattered bone then the humane thing to do is to put them down. The very nature of a horse's anatomy means it's virtually impossible for them to continue in anything other than distress. I get that. I neither dispute that any form of racing carries some risks. Also I don't use Twitter so have no interest in what you call the hashtag brigade are saying. This isn't something I'm following sheeplike it is something I've been saying since I was about 12 (many moons ago!).

 

My problem with it is the set-up and course of the National itself. Steeplechases are inherently far more dangerous than flat races and the course at Aintree particularly so. There are too many runners, some of the jumps are too severe and this is simply a recipe for disaster. I'm not saying they're not working on it simply that not enough has been done so far. I find it simply unacceptable that the excitement and income generated by he race justifies the deaths of so many horses over the years.

 

#banhorseracing was trending on Twitter earlier. Most of these people said it was cruel, which I completely disagree with, and were just jumping on a bandwagon. These are the same people who constantly eat meat and don't complain about the treatment of battery farm hens etc. - I don't mind people having an opinion on it if it's one they have had for a long time, but this debate only ever crops up around National day.

 

The course is dangerous. I think the length being 4m+ does the horses no favours either, but it's what makes it exciting. The race is so hard to win, which is why Red Rum is considered the greatest steeplechase horse ever. The racing world and community is always shocked by deaths to horses, and none more so than National. The amount of support and kind messages on Twitter and in the media has shown this. It's something that they love. It's the mindless idiots who know nothing about horse racing which is why some people probably don't show compassion.

#banhorseracing was trending on Twitter earlier. Most of these people said it was cruel, which I completely disagree with, and were just jumping on a bandwagon. These are the same people who constantly eat meat and don't complain about the treatment of battery farm hens etc. - I don't mind people having an opinion on it if it's one they have had for a long time, but this debate only ever crops up around National day.

 

The course is dangerous. I think the length being 4m+ does the horses no favours either, but it's what makes it exciting. The race is so hard to win, which is why Red Rum is considered the greatest steeplechase horse ever. The racing world and community is always shocked by deaths to horses, and none more so than National. The amount of support and kind messages on Twitter and in the media has shown this. It's something that they love. It's the mindless idiots who know nothing about horse racing which is why some people probably don't show compassion.

I'm not saying the race is cruel although definately stressful but you do come across as generalising the Twitter users a bit. How many did you have a conversation with? I'm not accusing just enquiring here. I think the subject of banning horse racing quite naturally only comes up on big race days. After all who's listening normally and secondly a big race brings it to the fore in everyone's mind. Your point about battery hens is kind of odd seeing as those type of cages have been banned in Europe after a gradual phase out since 1999. Not many complain about it because most of the complaints have been resolved.

 

I know it's hard to win and yes I remember Red Rum. His win in '77 is an early memory for me so I know the affection many horse have in the eyes of both the public and the racing community but I still think that the dangers are too severe to justify the course remaining the same.