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| Death Again Visits a Racecourse on Trial | Death Again Visits a Racecourse on Trial |
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| AINTREE, England — The death of a second horse in two days at the Grand National meeting at Aintree Racecourse has dampened spirits on the eve of the 166th running of the Grand National steeplechase, a race that animal rights groups declared to be “on a yellow card” after a run of 18 deaths in the past 20 years, including four in the past two races. | AINTREE, England — The death of a second horse in two days at the Grand National meeting at Aintree Racecourse has dampened spirits on the eve of the 166th running of the Grand National steeplechase, a race that animal rights groups declared to be “on a yellow card” after a run of 18 deaths in the past 20 years, including four in the past two races. |
| The Grand National steeplechase, popularized in the United States by the 1944 Elizabeth Taylor film “National Velvet,” is billed as the world’s sternest test of horse and rider. With a worldwide television audience estimated in the hundreds of millions, the race, founded in 1839, is a peerless showcase for the grace, as well as the cruel dangers, of jump racing. | The Grand National steeplechase, popularized in the United States by the 1944 Elizabeth Taylor film “National Velvet,” is billed as the world’s sternest test of horse and rider. With a worldwide television audience estimated in the hundreds of millions, the race, founded in 1839, is a peerless showcase for the grace, as well as the cruel dangers, of jump racing. |
| On Saturday at this course on the outskirts of Liverpool, 40 horses and riders will attempt to jump 30 forbidding fences over a distance of nearly four and a half miles at top speeds of nearly 40 miles an hour, with the leaders completing the course in less than 10 minutes. | On Saturday at this course on the outskirts of Liverpool, 40 horses and riders will attempt to jump 30 forbidding fences over a distance of nearly four and a half miles at top speeds of nearly 40 miles an hour, with the leaders completing the course in less than 10 minutes. |
| The heavy betting favorite last year, Synchronised, died during the race, leading to extensive changes in the past 12 months to the Grand National course. But there is growing concern that more horse fatalities will erode the popular support the event has traditionally enjoyed in Britain — and perhaps even lead Parliament to ban it as it did, in time, with bearbaiting, dog-coursing and fox hunting. | |
| ”The Grand National is on trial,” Gavin Grant, the chief executive of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, told reporters ahead of the race. “I simply don’t think the public will tolerate another National like the ones we’ve had in the past few years, and I think everyone involved in the race is approaching National weekend with a degree of nervousness.” | ”The Grand National is on trial,” Gavin Grant, the chief executive of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, told reporters ahead of the race. “I simply don’t think the public will tolerate another National like the ones we’ve had in the past few years, and I think everyone involved in the race is approaching National weekend with a degree of nervousness.” |
| The Grand National meeting is a British rite of spring, but it was bitingly cold Friday, as if the weather gods, with their own opinions on the event, had turned Ladies Day into a winter survival course. There were legions of uncoated fashionistas in chiffon dresses, feathered hats and stiletto heels, with male companions in snappy summer suits. | The Grand National meeting is a British rite of spring, but it was bitingly cold Friday, as if the weather gods, with their own opinions on the event, had turned Ladies Day into a winter survival course. There were legions of uncoated fashionistas in chiffon dresses, feathered hats and stiletto heels, with male companions in snappy summer suits. |
| With no protesters in sight, the only sign of official apprehension came with the serried ranks of yellow-jacketed police officers who encircled the winner’s enclosure for the two-and-a-half-mile Topham Steeplechase, which used the newly-configured Grand National course. After a multiple-horse fall broke his shoulder, Little Josh, a gelding who was one of the prerace favorites, was euthanized. | |
| In the Fox Hunters’ Steeplechase on Thursday, another prerace favorite, Battlefront, pulled up after jumping 14 of the course’s 16 barriers, then collapsed of what veterinarians said was a heart attack as his jockey walked him home. | In the Fox Hunters’ Steeplechase on Thursday, another prerace favorite, Battlefront, pulled up after jumping 14 of the course’s 16 barriers, then collapsed of what veterinarians said was a heart attack as his jockey walked him home. |
| It was death of Synchronised last year that galvanized the debate about the Grand National. The tape of Synchronised’s last minutes, studied by equine psychologists, has been used by the race’s critics as evidence that the horses have a deep-seated fear of its formidable fences. Five of the 16 fences rise above five feet, and the ominous Becher’s Brook had a fall on the landing side, beyond a water-filled ditch, of 6 feet 9 inches. To finish the race, the competitors must complete two circuits, needing to clear all but the last two fences twice. | It was death of Synchronised last year that galvanized the debate about the Grand National. The tape of Synchronised’s last minutes, studied by equine psychologists, has been used by the race’s critics as evidence that the horses have a deep-seated fear of its formidable fences. Five of the 16 fences rise above five feet, and the ominous Becher’s Brook had a fall on the landing side, beyond a water-filled ditch, of 6 feet 9 inches. To finish the race, the competitors must complete two circuits, needing to clear all but the last two fences twice. |
| Synchronised, a gelding ridden by the former steeplechase champion A. P. McCoy, unseated the jockey before the start and ran riderless up the course to the first fence, delaying the start for several minutes as stewards desperately sought to rein him. McCoy then rode the horse, still showing signs of agitation, back to the fence, giving him a chance to take a close look, before taking the start. Synchronised then fell at Becher’s Brook, unseating McCoy again. He carried on riderless, fell again at a later fence and broke a leg. | |
| Another horse, According to Pete, was euthanized after he fell at Becher’s Brook on the second circuit of the course. | |
| The BBC came under sharp criticism for saying nothing about the black-draped enclosures officials hurriedly erected around the stricken horses, and for announcing the deaths cursorily just before the credits ended the afternoon-long broadcast. | |
| In death, Synchronised became the touchstone for what Grand National historians say has been the race’s most testing year since “the race that never was” 20 years ago. In 1993, a chaotically bungled restart, caused in part by animal rights protesters waving banners near the horses, sent 30 runners chasing around two circuits of the course despite a red flag, leading to a voided result, widespread confusion in Britain’s jump-racing community, millions of angry gamblers, and a lengthy official inquiry. | In death, Synchronised became the touchstone for what Grand National historians say has been the race’s most testing year since “the race that never was” 20 years ago. In 1993, a chaotically bungled restart, caused in part by animal rights protesters waving banners near the horses, sent 30 runners chasing around two circuits of the course despite a red flag, leading to a voided result, widespread confusion in Britain’s jump-racing community, millions of angry gamblers, and a lengthy official inquiry. |
| The changes then had no match until the ones made for this year’s race. The biggest was in the construction, though not the height, of the fences. Previously, padded wooden stakes were driven into the ground to form a nearly rigid barrier beneath a dome of spruce fronds, which some likened to tank defenses deployed on Britain’s beaches in World War II. The core of the fences has been replaced by a frame of “plastic birch,” which tests have shown to be more yielding and less likely to catapult a horse into a somersault. | The changes then had no match until the ones made for this year’s race. The biggest was in the construction, though not the height, of the fences. Previously, padded wooden stakes were driven into the ground to form a nearly rigid barrier beneath a dome of spruce fronds, which some likened to tank defenses deployed on Britain’s beaches in World War II. The core of the fences has been replaced by a frame of “plastic birch,” which tests have shown to be more yielding and less likely to catapult a horse into a somersault. |
| Takeoff and landing areas at fences have been leveled, and the landing-side drop at Becher’s Brook has been reduced, with the sheer wall at the end of the water-filled ditch rounded off. | Takeoff and landing areas at fences have been leveled, and the landing-side drop at Becher’s Brook has been reduced, with the sheer wall at the end of the water-filled ditch rounded off. |
| As a result of the prestart nervousness that gripped Synchronised, the start has been moved 90 yards forward, away from the hubbub of one of the packed grandstands that cater to the tens of thousands of racegoers. | As a result of the prestart nervousness that gripped Synchronised, the start has been moved 90 yards forward, away from the hubbub of one of the packed grandstands that cater to the tens of thousands of racegoers. |
| One feature that has not been altered, despite strong protests, is the number of horses allowed to start. Forty horses in the race, critics say, leads to a cavalry charge at the start, overcrowding at fences, unsighting of horses and jockeys, and multiple falls. | One feature that has not been altered, despite strong protests, is the number of horses allowed to start. Forty horses in the race, critics say, leads to a cavalry charge at the start, overcrowding at fences, unsighting of horses and jockeys, and multiple falls. |
| The changes that were made have won no easement from animal rights groups who have described the race as barbarous and have promised to protest Saturday and beyond, until the race is abolished. But the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, with a vast membership that gives it mainstream political influence, has given a tentative thumbs-up. | The changes that were made have won no easement from animal rights groups who have described the race as barbarous and have promised to protest Saturday and beyond, until the race is abolished. But the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, with a vast membership that gives it mainstream political influence, has given a tentative thumbs-up. |
| The jockey Katie Walsh, who rode Battlefront and will race the small-odds favorite Seabass on Saturday, was quoted in The Daily Mail as saying that too much could be made of racehorses’ deaths. | The jockey Katie Walsh, who rode Battlefront and will race the small-odds favorite Seabass on Saturday, was quoted in The Daily Mail as saying that too much could be made of racehorses’ deaths. |
| “These horses are so well looked after, better than some children, to be honest with you,” said Walsh, 28, a candidate to emulate Taylor’s cinematic triumph and become the first female jockey to win the National. “I don’t read the criticism because it’s not worth it. At the end of the day, it would be a lot worse if it had been two jockeys that lost their lives. These things happen, and they’re horses at the end of the day.” | “These horses are so well looked after, better than some children, to be honest with you,” said Walsh, 28, a candidate to emulate Taylor’s cinematic triumph and become the first female jockey to win the National. “I don’t read the criticism because it’s not worth it. At the end of the day, it would be a lot worse if it had been two jockeys that lost their lives. These things happen, and they’re horses at the end of the day.” |