There is a world that Zack Polanski envisages in which none of this would have occurred. No joy, no history, no opportunity to say ‘I was there’.
Mr Polanski, the leader of the Green Party, would abolish horseracing if he had the opportunity. He’s a politician, evidently, that is adept at saying things to capture a headline but equally evident is his lack of knowledge about what a crucial role this industry plays in the country. Don’t let him fool you.
It is at this time of year when a lot of people like to shout and scream about the Randox Grand National, the kind of people you get the sense are hoping for a calamity to unfold so they can screech: ‘we told you so!’
But here’s the thing – Aintree is growing in popularity, as is horseracing as a whole as attendances continue to climb. A sell-out 60,000 crowd braved horrible conditions yesterday and the figure for the last three days was more than 141,000, the biggest since 2018.
That is hugely significant, as racing really suffered after the pandemic. It was never going to be like football, where tribalism and long-standing loyalties meant fans would always flock back to the clubs once they had permission. Racing, by contrast, had a challenge to hold on to its customers.
Polanski is a long-standing critic of all forms of racing, saying on social media in 2024 that the Aintree showpiece combined ‘gambling and animal cruelty’
But those charged with driving the industry forward are constantly looking to improve, to make it as safe as possible and ensure it is governed properly and with integrity
Opportunists such as Polanski and campaign groups have seized on incidents and the awful situation that befell Gold Dancer on Friday, when he suffered a fatal injury, enabled critics to charge in headfirst and blast inflammatory comments.
Everyone is entitled to their view but it doesn’t help when people don’t arm themselves with facts and figures or listen to experts give detailed analysis of situations. What happens, for instance, to the 20,000 thoroughbreds in the United Kingdom if Polanski abolished racing?
Where do the 85,000 people in the industry, many of whom are on primitive wages, find alternative employment? What fills the £4.1billion hole that would be left in the country’s economy if the sport ceased to exist?
Racing isn’t perfect and there are issues to address. But those charged with driving the industry forward are constantly looking to improve, to make it as safe as possible and ensure it is governed properly and with integrity.
We can never guarantee 100 per cent safety in a race or with anything to do with livestock but what we can guarantee is that racing continues to grip the nation; whether it is Aintree or a provincial track such as Newton Abbot, who last week welcomed a record 8500 crowd, it is captivating.
Paul Hayward, a doyen of sports journalists, once called the thoroughbred ‘the monarch of the animal kingdom’ and it is a beautiful phrase. Its majesty must be allowed to flourish.
