Safety first: Changes made to the Grand National amid criticism from activists

The Grand National will see changes in the upcoming race including fewer runners, earlier start time, and fence height reductions in a bid to make the race safer for horses involved. 

In the 2023 race, Corach Rambler ran to victory to secure the title in horse racing’s most anticipated event. Before the event began, there were more than one hundred protesters arrested due to disagreements over animal safety – this delayed the start of the race by 15 minutes. After climbing over fences minutes before the race was about to begin, with some attaching themselves to fences, they were quickly taken away by security and police. 

The Animal Rising activist group made people aware that their aims were to demand justice for the horses, in a sport where 60 have died in the last 23 years at Aintree. 

Following mass amounts of criticism over the years, the runners of Aintree Racecourse, The Jockey Club, have brought in multiple changes which will be implemented on the 13^th of April 2024. 

One of the biggest changes introduced is a reduction of runners in the race, in 1984 this was set at 40 but will now be taken down to 34. This is an attempt to reduce the number of horses falling, which is where the most fatalities occur. Research The Jockey Club carried out showed that there was a correlation between the risk of falling and the number of runners in a race. The first fence will also be moved 60 yards closer to make ‘the race as safe as possible’, with a standing start being implemented within this race and all races across the Grand National fences during the season. 

There have also been a high number of horses falling on the 11^th fence, which has now been reduced by two inches in a bid to prevent the amount falling. 

The start of the race has been brought forward from the original time of 5:15 p.m. to what will likely be around an hour earlier. This decision was made in a bid to allow the runners to face better running conditions as The Jockey Club states the ground can ‘dry out quickly’ during springtime.

Multiple other changes have been put in place, including softer ‘toe boards’ on the jumping side of fences, raising the handicap rating from 125 to 130, and horses not being led by a handler during the pre-race parade.

Despite these changes being made to favour to safety of horses and their riders, there has still been disagreement one being from the Animal Aid campaign group. A racing consultant from the group Dene Stansall stated, “Whilst any improvements to this dreadful race must be welcomed it doesn’t remove the dangers that are still evident on the Aintree racecourse”.