The Grand National is about to become a classier race - but at the cost of all its colour and charm
It wasn't just Ace Impact who was retired on Thursday; the Jockey Club in effect retired the world's most famous horserace too.
It might still be the Grand National, but brick by brick, fence by fence, furlong by furlong and runner by runner the great Aintree event is being dismantled into just another staying handicap chase.
The first Grand National I can remember watching was the one won by Party Politics in 1992. It was a magical, enthralling experience, an utterly unique spectacle, but that is no longer the case. It has been edging further away from that for several years now and Thursday's changes, in particular the reduction in the maximum size of the field from 40 runners to 34, will greatly accelerate that process.
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Published on inDavid Jennings
Last updated
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