Let's have an honest debate- Should the Grand National be axed?
MWalker1066
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Second horse has died at the 2013 meeting
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/horse-racing/22045330
Should the race be axed or not? Or should the jumps be scaled down?
Let's discuss.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/horse-racing/22045330
Should the race be axed or not? Or should the jumps be scaled down?
Let's discuss.
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Comments
But people watch horses die for their own entertainment, car accidents are pure accidentsand not watched for entertainment.
But it won't be, as most gamblers don't seem to care about the deaths of horses, they just care about money, seemingly.
And that's what it's about, of course - gambling.
To call this a "sport" is laughable.
These aren't horses having accidents in transport/farming roles, but are purely exploited for human greed.
Should beefburgers be banned then.
The horses involved probably have much better lives than wild horses. No predators. Now nature does suck.
Should it be made safer? Yes.
Most health and safety campaigners believe that by making the fences around the Melling Road Course smaller it means that it will be safer as the horses will get over easier, in fact I am of the belief that the opposite has happened as a result of that. I say this for two reasons; The first is that whilst in theory smaller fences mean an easier jump it also means that the horses are approaching the subsequent fences at a higher speed, and as all of us motorists know the higher a speed you are travelling the more chance of making a mistake and the more chance of injury.
The second reason is that because the fences are smaller and easier to get over it creates larger packs of horses racing with one another, and having a larger pack increases the chances of horses tripping over one another, hampering each other and in turn increasingly the likelyhood of the horse having an incident, as well as increasing the chances of a horse tripping over another faller and injuring itself in the process. In my view higher fences will break up the packs more, look at older National Races and see how spread the field was when the fences were higher.
This is probably a minority opinion, but I think it is a solution which should be considered.
I'm with you on this. By trying to make it easier it was also made more dangerous.
Horse deaths are bad, but that's not the aim of the sport. It can hardly be classed with dog and cock fighting.
I heard a debate the other day saying that if the fences were made shorter we may still have horse deaths. As the one the other day had a heartattack going too fast to cope rather than jumping.
Prior to 1990 in the previous 23 years 14 horses died and the fences were a hell of a lot bigger then (watch Rummys nationals on youtube and compare the fences to now!) now to me that's a big enough sample to suggest that meddling with the fences hasn't worked.
I do not watch a horse race to see horses die or get hurt for entertainment. I watch a race because I love the tension, the excitement and the energy of the experience. I always find it terribly upsetting when a horse does die or has to be put down due to injury. Do I watch formula one to view death, no, but it sadly has happened. The GN is an historic sporting event, yes, I do believe that the jumps should be simplified to minimise injury to both horse and rider, however, I personally do not think this race should be stopped. Because the GN is such an institution an ingrained part of British racing then it should continue, sadly in any sport there are fatalities and that is part of life. The riders and trainers fully understand the issues, let them get on with it, it is all about choice after all.
If you were to ban horse racing think how many abandoned horses you'd get. Contrary to what some might believe the owners actually do care for their horses.
This isn't me necessarily saying I believe it should be done right away with, just the comparison with other dangerous sports really isn't comparable or relevant, neither is it being a national institution a good reason to keep it.
Did you even read that sentence back before you posted? They care about their horses so much they would abandon them if they couldn't make money out of them?
I know a man who had a horse run in the Grand National and both his horses get top class care. They would most likely have starved to death had he not bought them.
You said it yourself, think how many abandoned horses there would be if not for racing, in other words, if it wasn't for the racing, most of these people wouldn't have horses.
No horse wants to be whipped, you whip a horse so it bows to its human master and runs faster, not because you care!
How longs the National been running? and only just lately in this tedious PC world we now live in we have to hear this drivel.
I bet the ones that pipe up making all the noise go home and eat beef burgers, bacon, chicken etc... animals are killed by the millions each and every day but lets make a big deal out of a horse or 2 in the National, its so pathetic and pointless in the grand scheme of things, 99% of the complainers dont really care, its just another bandwagon to jump on for the sake of it.
the national was first run in 1836 so axe it? no but make it safer
If you don't like the Grand National and want it to be abolished you should be actively (not passively) campaigning against it all year round. Setting up your stall for a couple of days once a year then dismantling it a few days later is not going to get it banned.
I have I agree tbh. Unless something major changes to make it much more safer (for horses and jockeys alike.