This year’s Grand National meeting attracted an exceptional amount of press attention, much of it due to a number of changes which were introduced in a bid to make the race safer. As a reaction to calls from animal welfare charities such as the RSPCA and Animal Aid – the latter of whom run a ‘racehorse death-watch’ website – Aintree organisers changed the cores of the fences from wood to flexible plastic, levelled out a number of the landings on jumps, and moved the start of the race away from the crowds.
So did the changes make a difference to the race? Saturday’s Grand National race was for many an unqualified success, and fortunately no horses died -which indicates that the race was indeed safer than in previous years. But perhaps the people most disappointed by that were the anti-hunt race lobby, many of whom are desperate to prove that the race is too dangerous to continue.
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in