Great National Festival (Image: PA)
We have developed a growing New Year's tradition around a day at the races. In recent years the morning of December 30th arrives and we pack the car for a short drive to spend a few days with our friends, who live in the beautiful Galmington area of Taunton.
In the evenings between Boxing Day and our Taunton trek, the WhatsApp group is buzzing with strategy:
'I'm keeping a limit of £5 per race'....a few wines later: 'I'll go for a tenner for the first two and see where I stand'....end of the bottle: 'tenner per race, it's Christmas!'
The reason for this exchange is that the highlight of our annual celebration is the traditional New Year's Eve Race Day in Taunton. The taxi is booked for 11am, we get in, four adults and four children, all ready for action.
As you approach the trail, the steady stream of tantalizing tweed and knee-high boots becomes a swarm. The traffic is going nowhere, the taxi driver looks pleadingly to the left and we all agree that we have to walk the last few hundred meters.
My buddy (Dad A), who is the apparent racing expert among us, stomps through the pre-paid gate and power-walks to the race ticket booth. My job, as Dad B, is to lead the kids on a determined walk to secure a table on the bench as close to the outdoor bar as possible.
Mom A and Mom B are responsible for purchasing stomach protectors in the form of bacon, bread and brown sauce.
The table is often a challenge, but like our betting approach, we have developed a cunning strategy. Even though all the tables are occupied, the racegoers are not a fixed group, bets have to be placed, drinks have to be bought and toilets have to be visited.
So we'll stick around!
Lean on the edge of a table, place a plastic pint cup on the edge, the smallest boy (Kid D) places a tentative cheek on the far edge of a chair, Kids B and C gather around Kid D, who is in control the table. primary electronic gaming device, Kid A is still not ready to crack a smile on his teenage chops.
At the start of the first race, the table will be ours and half the tribe will remain in place at all times to protect the fort. Drinks, bets, snacks, toilets, paddock visits happen in shifts.
The story continues
The next four hours are brilliantly chaotic fun. None of us really know which horse to back, including Dad A and his trusty race card. It's pure luck, with the selections quickly narrowing down to the horse with the best name, the fanciest jockey side or just a lucky number.
It's without a doubt a great day out, and we've even repeated the trick with occasional non-New Year trips to Newton Abbot, Exeter and Wincanton. Fortunately, the arrival tactic works at all locations.
Beyond the joy of being around friends and family, it's the atmosphere that makes race day so special: the buzz of anticipation, the sounds of society enjoying a day away from the pressures of work or school .
I know horse racing is popular all over the world, but like summer afternoons on a village cricket pitch, it all feels wonderfully British.
And the main event is the horse, this most magnificent beast. No matter how many times we go to the races, when one of these glorious hunks of muscle comes along, we're all equally impressed.
You don't have to be an equine expert to realize that these animals are much loved and cared for by their owners, trainers, jockeys and, probably most of all, the humble stable staff, who will tend to their daily needs.
Today the best of the best from this historic sport converge on Aintree for the Grand National, a race steeped in tradition and a key part of the British sporting calendar.
A very quick Google suggests that £300 million in bets will be placed on the Grand National and the race will be watched by a global TV audience of 600 million people. Those privileged enough to line the hallowed Aintree circuit will be treated to an extraordinary live spectacle.
The race itself is an absolute brutal!
Horses and jockeys will compete against sixteen obstacles, fourteen of which will be jumped twice, along a course that extends over more than six kilometers. It is the ultimate test of endurance for runner and rider.
The race normally consists of about 35 horses and, very rough figures here, probably about half will make it to the finish, often less than that.
Fortunately, many of those horses that don't finish are pulled up by their jockeys. Some let go of their jockey and gallop on a little longer before realizing they are no longer in the race.
However, some will never leave the job. Horses die in the Grand National, it is the tragic fact that accompanies this sporting spectacle.
I remember years ago watching a big race on television, it was the National or the Cheltenham Gold Cup. In the lead up to the race the owners of one horse were interviewed and they were just a syndicate of ordinary people who had banded together to fulfill their dream of owning a horse.
Their excitement radiated through the screen, you wanted their horse to win, a fairytale moment to realize.
I followed their horse around the entire race and when it stumbled heavily over a fence and fell to the ground with half a ton of force, you could just tell by the change in tone in the commentator's voice that it was a heavy fall used to be.
The race continued, cameras panned away to the leaders, our fairy horse remained on the ground.
For all their incredible strength, muscle and endurance, racehorses have very fragile legs and when a leg bone is broken in a heavy fall, it is often shattered, making surgery and recovery impossible.
A fence is placed on the track and the horse is euthanized on the spot. It is the tragic consequence of this dangerous sport. Jockeys have also been known to die or be seriously injured. The main difference is of course that the jockey has chosen this way of life.
We can never know how a horse feels about racing, but we do know that they generally live a great life. There will always be some sad exceptions where horses are not properly cared for, but our human instinct to care for animals certainly makes this very rare.
The average racehorse is treated to an excellent, balanced diet, receives ongoing veterinary support, spends its days running through pastures, enjoying the primal pleasure of racing and being with other horses.
This is not an attempt to sound idyllic, just reality. A horse that is poorly cared for will not have the strength to compete well on the track.
Campaigners against horse racing, and in particular show jumping, highlight the number of horse fatalities, the risk of injury being too great, horses being flogged for better performance, uncompetitive animals being culled and worrying reports of what happens to a horse after its racing days have ended. rounded.
For those of us who enjoy horse racing, it would be incredibly ignorant and selfish to ignore these concerns. The industry, which makes a lot of money from these fantastic animals, has an enormous responsibility for their well-being.
The anti-horse racing groups have raised awareness, forcing the industry to do more on horse welfare. Things like lowering fences have made a difference.
I seriously doubt that horse racing will ever be banned; too many people love it, too many livelihoods depend on it and, to put it bluntly, it makes too much money for anyone in power to seriously consider that option.
What we can consider is not discounting the views of those who oppose race. It's a safe bet (pardon the nonsense pun) that many in the racing industry find these animal activists troublesome and that their tactics can occasionally be questionable.
But without their opposition, horse welfare would be worse.
They will not achieve their ultimate ambition of banning the sport, but they can remind those who make large amounts of money from racing that their primary responsibility must be horse welfare, and that includes horses that are no longer fit for racing. to race.
Today we will marvel at these beautiful creatures and the skill of the jockeys who will hopefully lead them to glory. It is possible to both love the Grand National and believe in the importance of horse welfare.
And if you are patient and persistent, it is also possible to steal every table during the races.
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