Grand National.

[Bigtallfatbloke]

I think it's a shame horses are made to jump in conditions that invariably lead to a few fatalities, just one this year.
I hav enothing against racing, just lower the dam fences???

 

[mcd]

muhaha! I WON!!!
good old "Comply or Die" came in for me!

Me too! Unfortunately I can't claim any horse racing nous - I drew it out of the hat in the sweepstake at work. But who cares - I'm £40 up!!

 

[Aperitif]

Who won?
It wasnae me...

That's nice - I like the little horse motifs around the (bridle?) strap.
Under the Heathrow landing path at Hatton Cross, there are plenty of horses who benefit from carrots begrudgingly 'given' by Jack the dog on one of his walks
The horses are very expressive - I couldn't imagine the poor things falling and being shot. I did see a four day eventing? qualifier (or something like that) at Windsor Great Park. Apart from the immense tasks the horses faced actually jumping, it was the slipping and smashing of shins? against poles etc that made me feel quite queasy

 

[buggi]

o no, the one i bet on got put down!!! poor old McKelvey. i feel bad now.

 

[col]

My wife picked a third place at £1 each way,havnt got a clue what the winnings will be.I think she mentioned a fiver at the odds it was.Maybe a chicken parmo for supper?

 

[Flying_Monkey]

I haven't watched since I was a kid - our family used to watch it and each pick a horse. Mine fell and was later shot. I didn't understand it then, and I understand it even less now.

 

[on the road]

My wife picked a third place at £1 each way,havnt got a clue what the winnings will be.I think she mentioned a fiver at the odds it was.Maybe a chicken parmo for supper?

If my calculations are correct, that works out at £2.50

 

[col]

If my calculations are correct, that works out at £2.50

Your right,my wife said that amount when i asked her,so looks like ill be putting the extra to it

 

[Arch]

o no, the one i bet on got put down!!! poor old McKelvey. i feel bad now.

Yeah, poor thing it was the BBC One Show horse, and then West Brom lost, little as I care for sport, Adrian Chiles is going to be in a right state...

FM - it's a sad fact that there are some injuries a horse just can't recover from like we can. Well, it might, given a huge investment and one to one care, but even then, it might never get over it. I dunno what happened to McKelvey, but a broken leg for a horse is not like a broken leg for us - and it might have been a heart condition or something that he'd never recover from?. I hate to see them fall and hate it more if they die, but if horses are going to be raced, it's a danger. And if they weren't raced, there'd be no point in having them, not thoroughbreds anyway...

I didn't bet, didn't even choose one, just watched the race and marvelled at the fact that anyone stays on at all....

 

[Arch]

oh, and noodley I love your horse, she(?) reminds me of Puzzle, my favourite at the stables I used to go to....

 

[Flying_Monkey]

I hate to see them fall and hate it more if they die, but if horses are going to be raced, it's a danger. And if they weren't raced, there'd be no point in having them, not thoroughbreds anyway...

Indeed. But that's hardly an argument in favour of horse-racing.

 

[User482]

My horse was winning with 2 fences to go, but ended up 5th. Grrr.

 

[Arch]

Indeed. But that's hardly an argument in favour of horse-racing.

I know, and horse racing is one of the things I'm not sure what I feel about it - on the one hand, I hate to see a horse die, on the other, I do like the sight of a load of horses at full pelt, and I see that it provides a lot of employment and enjoyment for a lot of people - I'm not a passionate fan myself, would rather watch eventing or showjumping. Not being a vegetarian or anything, I can't condemn people using animals and doing away with them when it's convenient. I prefer to know they've had a good life and so on, and if they 'must' die, that they die quickly.

There's plenty of people I'd happily see shot rather than waste NHS resources on....

 

[Maz]

We used to have a GN sweepstake in the office. There's been so much chopping and changing in the office that half the people don't know what a sweepstake is, whilst the other half never even heard of the Grand National.

 

[Arch]

Just reading the paper, I see that McKelvey, after unseating his rider, ran full tilt into a railing, sustaining an untreatable back injury. So it sounds like a freak accident - not jumping the fence that did it, but the result of a horse pumped up on adrenalin running unguided. Still sad.

And apparently, the fatality rate for the National is now (after safety improvements) the same as for steeplechasing overall - I guess we notice the National becuse so many of us watch it, and the field is normally bigger than any other race...