SKY bet came up with a random horse if you had bet so much and if it won you went in a draw for £50,000. So thought I would have a bet on it. It won and covered all my others with a bit of profit. Haven’t heard about the £50,000 yet though.
What happened with the protest? I see the race was delayed a bit and plenty were arrested. Unlike when the twats blocked the roads and the police just left them alone, even giving them water and arresting some drivers who tried to move them
It's not uncommon for mainstream race channels to edit out nasty looking falls. As for these protesters,they're fully entitled to engage in peaceful protest(they didn't though)but they have deliberately kept horses in the parade ring for 15 minutes longer than necessary and some of these horses were getting worked up before they were led onto the track,that doesn't strike me as animal welfare. Horses are highly strung coiled springs at the best of times and the delay hasn't allowed some of these horses to settle at the start of the race,whether or not that has caused some of the early falls is debatable but possible. I get where you are coming from but I didn't agree with some of the behaviour on show,I suppose I'm a bit biased because racing is a huge part of my life.I am always saddened when a horse has to be put down after a fall or suffers a career ending injury,it's awful to witness!! Anyway,onto next week's Scottish National with the hope(for their sake) that these animal welfare protesters don't disrupt another big race meeting...I don't think the Ayr racegoers will show the same level of tolerance[/QUOTE]
[/QUOTE] Yeah I'm not particularly on the side of the protesters. I just don't like the whitewashing. Especially after some quite aggressive defence of racing by some of the pundits. I'd have more respect if they just say yeah, some horses end up enduring some suffering. It's just part and parcel of the game. I enjoy a bit of racing. I like a steak and a bucket of wings. I do it with my eyes wide open that some not nice **** will go on in order for me to enjoy those. I don't think that makes me a bad person but I can respect why people might be morally against them.
Just got back in time for City and watched the race without knowing the result. I'm gutted, another half a furlong I think I'd have backed the winner... pleased for The winners yard though and I think the winner cost 17k when other yards have horses with telephone number purchase prices... a young man 21 one of the winning owners too... good luck to them...
[/QUOTE] I was thinking similar Ric... would they do it in Ireland ..hell no!!.. I dont think they'd have done it anywhere near the stands today... Badminton, Burleigh. Can you imagine them trying to do it at say the Melbourne Cup, the police wouldn't get near them. The thing is, as has been said these horses live in 6 star luxury, pampered like they're superstars, even the ones who are not. Sandy Thomson lost Hill Sixteen today falling at the first and he put it down totally to the protesters. The horse was awash with sweat before hand. What they didnt get, couldn't get, wouldn't want to get, is that these horses love doing it. Today, they knew they were there to race and the adrenalin that would have been coursing through them was bad for their welfare. These protesters will move onto the M25 again next week, its their job...I just hope the magistrate is a racing fan...
I was thinking similar Ric... would they do it in Ireland ..hell no!!.. I dont think they'd have done it anywhere near the stands today... Badminton, Burleigh. Can you imagine them trying to do it at say the Melbourne Cup, the police wouldn't get near them. The thing is, as has been said these horses live in 6 star luxury, pampered like they're superstars, even the ones who are not. Sandy Thomson lost Hill Sixteen today falling at the first and he put it down totally to the protesters. The horse was awash with sweat before hand. What they didnt get, couldn't get, wouldn't want to get, is that these horses love doing it. Today, they knew they were there to race and the adrenalin that would have been coursing through them was bad for their welfare. These protesters will move onto the M25 again next week, its their job...I just hope the magistrate is a racing fan...[/QUOTE] 118 arrests and a huge wad of tax payers hard earned money down the drain.. I'd fine them a grand each and it still wouldn't cover the costs.I'm all for people having a voice and the right to peaceful demonstration,who knows,maybe they are genuinely concerned about animal welfare?(personally I think they're attention seeking headline grabbers) Maybe they'll descend on pets at home next week and release some gerbils...
What they didnt get, couldn't get, wouldn't want to get, is that these horses love doing it. [/QUOTE] I've heard that many times TSC and I don't dispute it but, I bet they don't love dying. The race was altered a few years ago to make it safer for the horses, maybe they could alter it a bit more to make it a bit more safe? I'm not fussed about the jockeys, they have a choice, the horses don't. Anyway, it's not just about the Grand National or Aintree, jump racing across the board produces too many deaths, horses shouldn't be dying doing something they love. I have little sympathy with the protesters but they do act as a reminder that work must carry on to make jump racing safer. Bit of a rant, sorry, but I got really cross with one of the pundits just before the race spouting 'yes, it's a bit dangerous but lots of sports are, motor racing's dangerous, you want to ban that aswell?'. ****ing idiot...
16.45 Wincanton, Robin Des Mana 1 point e/w @ 18/1 @ Skybet, Coral, Betfred 1/5 @ 123 places 15:15 Huntingdon, Matterhorn 1pt win @ 2.25 most bookies
Interesting article This Grand National was an unsettling spectacle for many inside racing’s bubble Greg Wood please log in to view this image It has always been something of a double-edged sword that, of the 10,000 horse races in Britain each year, the only one that gets the entire nation interested is so unlike the other 9,999. The Grand National’s extended distance, the number and nature of its fences and its 40-runner field are all unique, and have contributed to its immense popularity throughout a near 200-year history. But the characteristics that make it the most exciting and unpredictable spectacle of the racing year also ensure that it is the riskiest too for both horses and riders. As the British Horseracing Authority has been at pains to point out in recent days, the overall rate of fatal injuries in racing has dropped by around a third, from 0.3% to 0.21%, over the last 20 years, following significant investment, research and effort by the regulator. The rate in jump racing, however, is 0.43%, but in the last 10 runnings of the Grand National, including six in a row between 2013 and 2018 in which there were no fatalities, it stands at 1.12%. That is the lowest 10-year rate on record and follows significant changes to the fences and course, but is still more than double that for jump racing as a whole. Hill Sixteen, who fell at the first, was the fourth fatality in three years. He was one of five horses to exit at the first fence, while three more went at the second. As a result, there were three horses galloping loose at the head of the field, and there could easily have been a pile-up when all three decided to run out, in different directions, at Valentine’s, the ninth fence. As it turned out the only casualty was Lifetime Ambition, who unseated Sean O’Keeffe as a loose horse veered right in front of him. The other two, meanwhile, crashed through a rail on the left and started running along the inside. In all, 12 of the 14 departures at fences occurred during a frantic and chaotic first circuit that even many long-standing racing fans may have found to be an uncomfortable watch. It is feasible that the 15-minute delay to the race as protesters were removed from the course contributed to the frenetic atmosphere during the first half of the race, though very difficult to say for sure. But there was a definite sense of urgency about getting the race under way, with both the parade and the national anthem abandoned, and the run to the first felt more urgent than ever. please log in to view this image Protesters are detained by police close to the second fence at Aintree. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Observer And if it was an unsettling spectacle for some of us inside the racing bubble, consider how it must have looked to the millions of once-a-year viewers. The National is their only, annual point of contact with the sport, and from the average sofa it probably looked more like devil-may-care bedlam than organised horse racing. It is a point that campaigners such as those from the group Animal Rising understand only too well. No statistic about the extremely low fatality rate in racing as a whole, or BHA statement about the efforts being made to reduce it still further, stands much chance of cutting through when viewers with no more than a fleeting interest in racing know, or suspect, that they have just watched a horse lose its life. Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. The three-day National meeting as a whole, during which three horses suffered fatal injuries, will, as always, be the subject of a thorough review by the BHA. There could, perhaps should, be some more tweaks to the start, in an attempt to reduce the hectic nature of the early stages. Redcar 1.15 Lyndsanda 1.50 Revoquable 2.25 Leap Year Lad 3.00 Belhaven 3.35 Peace Man 4.10 Wadacre Gomez 4.40 Morning Sun (nap) Kelso 1.40 Jimmy Chou Pecos Aa 2.15 Topkapi Star 2.45 En Meme Temps 3.20 Marown 3.55 Atlantic Dancer 4.30 Ballydonagh Boy 5.05 Miss Maverick 5.40 Lisnamult Lad Windsor 2.00 All In The Hips 2.35 Dapperling 3.10 Liable 3.45 Lil Guff 4.20 Oh Herberts Reign (nb) 4.55 Forest Demon 5.25 Warhol 5.55 Lawn Ranger Kempton Park 5.30 Wallop 6.00 Wildfell 6.30 Glory Nights 7.00 Sweet Mist 7.30 Imaginary World 8.00 Double Time 8.30 Perfect Gentleman
Why did we protest at the Grand National? To finally make Britain talk about our treatment of animals | Alex Lockwood As a country of people who love animals, it shocks and saddens many of us that watching a horse break their neck on national TV is still considered entertainment. That’s why 300 people from Animal Rising went to Aintree on Saturday to stop the Grand National. We did not fully succeed, and – like last year – more horses died. Hill Sixteen fell at the first fence and was put down due to the horse’s injuries. Hill Sixteen’s death followed those of two others at Aintreelast week. We mourn the loss of these animals. These deaths are par for this course, and for racing events overall. The horse racing authorities and betting industry defend slow incremental “welfare” improvements, and yet horses continue to die with awful regularity: 50 so far on the tracks in 2023. On average, a horse dies every other day on the tracks, over jumps and on the flat, with many more dying in training and the paddock. The dangerous institution of the Grand National should have been retired long ago. please log in to view this image The Mail on Sunday’s front page today. Photograph: Henry Nolan/Mail on Sunday Where we did succeed is in showing that this is a much bigger problem than just one race. We protested because everywhere we look we see a broken relationship with animals and the natural world. This broken relationship is at the heart of our climate and nature crisis. We’re devouring nature through animal farming and fishing, killing our rivers with slurry from industrial chicken and pig farms, and watching our beloved wildlife disappear in front of our eyes. All because we are stuck in a pattern of outdated beliefs that it is OK to control animals, using them for profit. The Grand National is emblematic of this uncomfortable and one-sided dominance – that’s why we tried to stop it. There is a solution: repairing this broken relationship, beginning where most harm is done, in our food system. A food system without animals is already known to be safer, more secure and more sovereign, providing all the calories and nutrients we need and, in fact, using less land. This freed-up land could be rewilded for nature to recover, and we could see wildlife – including wild horses – return and flourish. It shouldn’t take a committed bunch of caring individuals to put this solution at the centre of national debate. But it has. Up and down the country, everyone is talking about our treatment of animals. This national conversation is essential to challenge the fast decline into climate inaction. Some prefer to focus on the protests rather than the issues. So let’s talk about them. Animal Rising is a peaceful movement; our actions are focused on stopping harm, particularly in the food system, where we breed and kill more than 1.2bn animals in the UK every year. All of our planned actions on Saturday were nonviolent. That’s different from being disruptive, of course, but the two have long been compatible: just look at Gandhi or Martin Luther King. please log in to view this image ‘On average, a horse dies every other day on the tracks, over jumps and on the flat.’ The water jump at the Grand National. Photograph: Paul Greenwood/Shutterstock We are a movement for all life and that includes animals exploited elsewhere such as in sports and animal testing. The aim was to stop the race before it began. But sadly it was deemed more important for people to have a bit of fun and a flutter than to stop animals from dying. For those few claiming that our actions affected the horses and outcome, we point to the fact we were not taking action for the other 2,601 deaths since 2007. Direct action has been part of a healthy democracy for as long as there has been democracy, especially when it is obvious that “business as usual” does not represent the values of most of us. In the UK, according to research by the University of York, more than 80% of people under 40 do not want to attend horse racing events because they know it is unethical. Returning to the bigger picture, has anyone yet taken any action that is proportionate to the coming social and economic collapse that is likely to result from the climate crisis? Have we persuaded our climate-insane government to take proportionate action? Not yet – if we had, it would have already ended animal farming and fishing and supported farmers into safer, more sustainable practices. That’s why we’ll be taking more action this year, along with all those acting to challenge the existential threat. We’re not against those who attended Aintree, or the trainers or jockeys. But we accept Saturday was the biggest challenge to horse racing in this country for more than a decade. Let’s hope that we’ve begun the process of having this crucial conversation about our treatment of animals and the natural world, and that others – our government, and all those who say they love animals – stand with us to tackle the mounting crises we face. Alex Lockwood is an Animal Rising spokesperson and volunteer
Not taking sides but I'd have liked Animal Rising's response to the suggestion that the protest itself may been responsible for the chaotic first lap where the horse died. His article is really just a rehash of text from their website.
You wouldn't expect a trainer to have any support for the protesters, but this one's gone a little further... The man who trained the horse that suffered a fatal fall at Saturday's Grand National has blamed "ignorant" protesters for his animal's death. The Aintree race had been delayed by almost 15 minutes after protesters attempted to enter the racecourse and fix themselves to the fences and railings along the route.Hill Sixteen - trained by Sandy Thomson - fell at the first fence and was put down after suffering a broken neck. The Scottish handler described the horse as "hyper" due to the protests, and blamed the activists for why it fell for the first time in his career. "He just hasn't taken off at the first fence; he's got so bloody hyper because of the carry on," he told the Racing Post. He said he tried to calm the horse by washing him off but to no avail. "Unfortunately, it's a statistic we're all trying to avoid," Mr Thomson said. "He's jumped round here twice and never had a bother. I don't know when he last fell. "I know how ignorant these people are and they haven't a bloody clue. They just cause more problems than they ever solve." https://news.sky.com/story/grand-na...t-animal-rising-protesters-for-death-12859159
They seem to have set out a very clear and precise way forward though... No more days out at the racing,No more fish and chips,No more disgusting meat eaters chomping on their sirloin steaks,sausages and burgers and of course, the mandatory purchase of a machete to chop your way through the re-wilding on the way to your local Sainsbury's for your Linda McCartney veggie grub. Winner,winner,tofu dinner...
Not exactly the same subject but linked to your description of the way we seem to be heading, not sure if this is a story from April fool's day but just heard that the Brecon Beacon nation park is going to drop that name because they see themselfs as green, clean, environment friendly and beacon has an image of dirty, burning, and polluting. They will only be using the welsh name for the national park
Not an April Fool....... "As of Monday 17 April, the park will informally be known as the Bannau." "we're an environmental organisation so a giant, carbon-burning brazier isn't really a good look,"
Yes,it makes you wonder why anyone ever bothered with the clumsy and cumbersome attempt at saving lives with the 'Belisha' version?
Be lucky…. 3:35 pm Redcar - Bystander 13/8 (2 Points) 4:45 pm Tranmore - Smooth Player 5/4 (1 Point) 13:50 Redcar, Code Purple 0.5pt each-way @ 4.50 most bookies (4 places @ 1/5) 14.15 Kelso , Deluxe Range 1 point e/w @ 9/1 @ Skybet ,Unibet, Betfred 1/5 @ 1234 places 13:40 Kelso, Jimmy Chou Pecos Aa 1pt win @ 1.67 most bookies 17.55 Windsor , Hot Team 1 point e/w @ 12/1 @ Bet365 ,William Hill , Bet Victor 1/5 @ 123 places
