Grand National - Bet or Boycott?

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Spuff

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It's always been a bit of a tradition (for those who aren't regular gamblers) to have a bit of a flutter on the Grand National. Sit down with the Saturday paper, choose the colours that look nice or that 200-1 shot that has the same name as your dog/mother-in-law.

But after last year's carnage should the traditional flutter carry on or is it time to boycott a race which seems to push the horses to unacceptable limits?
 
have been an avid racegoer all my life, my grandfather used to be the man who looked after the cars for the owner of Newcastle racecourse so I think I get it from him, we used to spend hours picking horses.

having said that, I am torn between danger to horses and the thrill of the race

I would like to see them ban the crop altogether, puts everyone on an even keel

but as for the race itself, the GN has had many changes to improve safety and it has made the race less exciting

so I can't give you an answer I'm afraid, hard for me to decide
 
i struggled with the argument years ago, but am not too bothered these days.
if there wasn't a sweep at work, I might not have been interested in it.
 
There is always a sweep at work, sometimes put some money down. Never usually a large amount.
 
i normally go for the sweep at work but didnt have any change on me this year, normally win something too :|

as for the morals, i dont see a huge issue with it. sure theres risk, theres also risk in showjumping, trials and puissance etc (and at a push dressage, ive seen horses spook and nearly go over backwards etc).
 
Always bet and for three years running have picked the winner.

This year my bets are on seabass, always right (cos I am), West end rocker, Black Appalachi and ballabrigs

The wife has a bet on mon mome
 
joescrivens said:
Always bet and for three years running have picked the winner.

This year my bets are on seabass, always right (cos I am), West end rocker, Black Appalachi and ballabrigs

The wife has a bet on mon mome
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Lol i have chose all of them plus shacalacaboomboom just because i liked the name.
 
West end rocker for me. It was th e first one I saw where the jockey had a red shirt :)
 
1st faller and the race hasn't started yet! :eek:
 
gramps said:
Two horses dead then! :(
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Quite funny seeing Synchronised trying to leg it before the start but then being retrieved by a photographer!

A beautiful looking horse too. Shame it had to be destroyed at Becher's :(
 
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I did £20 e/w on According To Pete, sadly a fatality along with Synchronised.
 
I'd never bet on the grand national. IMO it pushes the horses beyond reasonable limits and that's why you see so many deaths there.

I also don't find horse racing particularly interesting or exciting so I don't bet on other races either, but that's less of a moral objection and more down to a disinterest.

Football is where I like to have a little bet every now and then to spice up the weekend. I never bet on Arsenal though :nono: :rules:
 
I'm not a gambler at all - I don't know how to place a bet so just clicked a button on the PaddyPower website, as i didn't want to embarrass myself in a shop :)

Put a quid each way on Seabass, as it's a fishing link, and got £6.50 so ended up a winner.

Not sure what my feelings are on it as a sporting event. Horse racing is a bit like boxing for me, I can see why some people like it but I don't think society would crumble if it was gotten rid of.....
 
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specialman said:
I'm not a gambler at all - I don't know how to place a bet so just clicked a button on the PaddyPower website, as i didn't want to embarrass myself in a shop :)

Put a quid each way on Seabass, as it's a fishing link, and got £6.50 so ended up a winner.
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What will you spend your bounty on? :lol:
 
specialman said:
I think I'll invest it.....
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Leave it in the online account and stick it on Liverpool to win the FA cup final with Andy Carroll scoring in the 93rd minute :D (there, hopefully I've jinxed that one now).

Actually, there's a thought...if football had the same rules as the Grand National they would have put up a black canopy on the pitch at Anfield and shot Carroll weeks ago....he should never have been playing today!
 
Just heard two horses had to be put down, nothing seems to get done about this.

Why!!! ?
 
It's terrible that two more horses had to be destroyed. The field needs to be cut to twenty and the fences lowered by at least thirty percent. I do think there is a place for jump races though. My grandma though, disagrees. He was a jockey in Greece in the 30s and thinks all jump racing should be stopped.
 
Synchronised should have been taken out of the race in the beginning, it obviously wasn't happy to be there :(

the BIG problem with horse racing is that it's all about the money and a horse with a broken leg is worth more dead.

same as football - my hubby assures me that there's no corruption in football, but where there's large sums of money there's always corruption

and going by some of the referee decisions....

I'm hoping we get Chelsea again ha ha
 
mxfun said:
Just heard two horses had to be put down, nothing seems to get done about this.

Why!!! ?
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Something IS done, every year or three. And that is the problem. There were fewer deaths in the 70s & 80s than in the last two decades. Why? Because the unknowledgable do-gooders got involved and campaigned for 'safer' fences which had the effect of making them much faster - and dangerous.
 
sturisoma said:
the BIG problem with horse racing is that it's all about the money and a horse with a broken leg is worth more dead.

same as football -
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:whistling:

:D
 
neil_g said:
You cant make a horse do something if it doesn't want to, if synchronised didn't want to race when the rider got back on it wouldn't have.
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So what your saying is that it's ok,horses have been getting seriously injured and put down for years in this race . Your on about if the horse didn't want to race it wouldn't have (seriously) my oldest son has a collie pup, it's about 6 months old and already it's doing it's hearding skills with no training as of yet. It does it because it's all in the breeding, it's a natural thing for the dog to do,because that's what collies do! (get my point)?

Same goes for these horses, this isn't their only race of the year! It's what they're bred for! .



Again

Why?
 
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sorry Neil that's a very simplistic view, I can see horses continue the race after they've lost their jockeys so there is something making them run, but they don't jump the fences, the loose horses go round the fences. They are dumb animals doing what they're 'told' to do. My dog is trained to do what I want not what she wants, she doesn't eat her food out of her bowl until I say she can. Animals are trained, they have little choice. That animal was not happy and should have been taken out of the race. (which it probably would have been if not for the fact that it was the favourite)
 
sturisoma said:
sorry Neil that's a very simplistic view, I can see horses continue the race after they've lost their jockeys so there is something making them run, but they don't jump the fences, the loose horses go round the fences. They are dumb animals doing what they're 'told' to do. My dog is trained to do what I want not what she wants, she doesn't eat her food out of her bowl until I say she can. Animals are trained, they have little choice. That animal was not happy and should have been taken out of the race. (which it probably would have been if not for the fact that it was the favourite)
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Oh dear. Dumb animals? Quite the opposite actually, horses are pretty smart. If you've ever seen someone trying to get a horse to do something it doesn't want it you'll know it's near impossible.

The rider less horses are generally following instinct of running together.
 
mxfun said:
So what your saying is that it's ok,horses have been getting seriously injured and put down for years in this race . Your on about if the horse didn't want to race it wouldn't have (seriously) my oldest son has a collie pup, it's about 6 months old and already it's doing it's hearding skills with no training as of yet. It does it because it's all in the breeding, it's a natural thing for the dog to do,because that's what collies do! (get my point)?

Same goes for these horses, this isn't their only race of the year! It's what they're bred for! .

Again

Why?
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You got all that from one sentence? :thinking:
 
not what 'dumb animal' means - I know how intelligent animals are
 
Every year the bloody same.....



...and I'm not talking about the race!
 
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