This kind of life? They get the best of food, the best of vetinerary care, they get to be regularly exercised and the get the chance to run and jump. Horses are fragile creatures and easily damaged, and tragically some of them come to grief. However is that really a worse life than those sad horses you see tethered on a piece of waste ground, bored out of their minds and ridden once a week, if they're lucky?

As for it being all about money, firstly these are immensely valuable animals, so if there were any possibility of saving them then I'm sure that would be taken. Secondly, you only have to look at the news reports to understand what a blow the loss of a horse is to the owners, the trainers, stable lads and jockeys involved.

The large field adds to the danger, but it also adds to the unpredictability of the race. Luck matters more than form, so it is a race where an outsider is at least in with a chance. It is this, as well as the spectacle, which makes the National such a special race. On the other hand, it is tragic when horses die, and it seemed especially poignant this year as both victims had been part of the pre-race build-up rather than being anonymous.

I am not a racing enthusiast, and I was upset by the loss of those horses. However I wouldn't want to see the race banned or watered down either. I accept this is an ambivalent position to be in.