Grand National
The Grand National (actually: Grand National Hunt Handicap Horse Race ) is the premier horse obstacle race in the United Kingdom . It is one of the races with the highest stakes and the best prizes in the world. The race was often criticized for its dangerousness for horses and riders.
history
The race has been held regularly since 1836, although the recognition of the years 1836-38 is rejected by some historians. In 1916-18 the races took place at Gatwick Racecourse, which is now part of Gatwick Airport . Some historians do not classify these years as Grand National and accordingly exclude them. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic , the race was canceled in 2020, so the next Grand National will not take place until 2021.
Competition mode
The race usually takes place on (usually the first) Saturday in April at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool . Two laps with a total length of 7.2 km (4.5 miles) have to be covered and 30 obstacles (14 of them twice) have to be overcome. The race is held as a compensation race (English. Handicap), ie the participating horses carry different weights depending on their relative performance to each other shown in races. For safety reasons, the size of the field of participants has been limited to a maximum of 40 horses for several years.
Some of the jumps have names (e.g. "Valentine's Brook", "Canal Turn", "The Chair") and are particularly difficult. The most famous obstacle is No. 6 “Beecher's Brook” with a trench that is now covered on the lower landing side. It is named after Captain Martin Beecher, who crashed here in 1839.
Criticism of the race
After the race in 1989, obstacles and courses began to be changed in order to counteract the large number of falls, which can often be fatal for the horses. The number of starters is now limited to 40 horses and the maximum weight has been repeatedly reduced. Various obstacles have been changed, including the well-known Beecher's Brook, whose moat is now closed, the jump-off and landing heights of obstacles have been changed and it is now also possible to bypass obstacles by widening the racetrack to prevent horses from entering already fallen horses have to jump in. Nevertheless, there were still two fatal horse falls in 2011 and 2012, one of which occurred at Beecher's Brook. That is why there are still protests by animal rights activists against what, in their opinion, is out of date race. According to animal rights activists, the still large number of falls and the resulting injuries to the horses cannot be justified. In return, the race management refers to the great tradition of the race and the changes that have already taken place and are ongoing on the track.
At the beginning of 2013 it was announced that the structure of the obstacles would be changed. So nothing should change in the shape of the obstacles, but the core of the obstacles should consist of more easily yielding material, for example plastic.
Trivia
As part of the Grand National , sweepstakes are regularly held in Great Britain among friends or among work colleagues ; the documents required for this lottery game are made available for download by many newspapers and the BBC.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Two horses die after running - animal rights activists protest , Tages-Anzeiger , April 16, 2012
- ^ The Grand National will be defused , St. George , January 17, 2013
- ↑ Sweepstakes kit for the Grand National
Coordinates: 53 ° 28 ′ 37 " N , 2 ° 56 ′ 30" W.