the week-end before the grand national.

​To begin, a topic only very loosely connected to the world’s greatest horse race. 
‘When I was young, before I needed any one’, the racing week consisted, in the main and outside of Easter, Christmas and Whitsun – what has happened to Whitsun? – two meetings per week-days and perhaps four on a Saturday. There was no all-weather racing, Sunday racing, summer jumping and far fewer evening meetings. At least, that is how I remember the days of my youth.
The base reason for the overall non-competitiveness of British racing and the poor level of prize-money can be attributed to those four factors, though at this present-time you can add to the mix the cost-of-living crisis that accounts for fewer horses in training. Bemoaning the downslide in racecourse attendance, for which an added contributor might be our excellent dedicated racing channels, which the Racing Post is over-willing to highlight, yet failing to mention the reasons above, when the cost-of-living crisis is the main contributing factor for race-goers limiting their race-days, is a hindrance to finding a solution. At least, to my way of thinking.
While no one should criticise any attempt to boost prize-money, and Arc are to be congratulated for the money on offer at Bath, Lingfield and Newcastle, yesterday, it really should only be seen in context of one sunny summers’ day in a week of downpours. In the present crisis, all-weather racing, especially all-weather racing in the summer, is more the problem than the solution.
Aintree.
The current weather forecast suggests a soft-ground Grand National. Without being hot, the weather for the Liverpool area does seem conducive to grass growth, so the clerk of the course should not have the same issue to counter as her colleagues at Cheltenham and Doncaster recently. Soft-ground, though, will doubtless provide fewer finishers, an emphasis on stamina and perhaps a long-shot winner. Not good news for my big hope, Lifetime Ambition who ‘the experts’ disregard as being devoid of the stamina required.
For sweepstake purposes, I suppose, 40-runners lining-up can be considered essential. But less than that number should not be seen as the race losing popularity and esteem. The Grand National has not always attracted a full-field of 40 and in the days before health and safety was invented the number of runners could swell into the sixties. What a sight that would have been as the horses thundered to the first?
In 1875 only 19 horses faced the starter. In 1882 only12. In 1894 only 14. I have taken those dates at random from Reg Green’s fantastic book ‘A Race Apart’ and I am aware there might be occasions when even fewer horses ran in the race. Into the first decade of the 20th century field sizes grew into the lower and middle 20’s, with 35 being achieved in 1921. 37 ran in 1927, won by Sprig, with the unlucky Bovril second. In 1928 42-horses ran, with only 2 completing, Tipperary Tim and the American horse Billy Barton remounted to finish second.
Incidentally, until 1929, the Canal Turn was a ditch, not the plain fence it is now. In 1929, 66-horses (I wasn’t joking or messing with you) went to post, with 10 finishing the race. In this period, for a number of years, 40 became the norm for the race, though in 1936 only 36 ran and only 34 the following year. Nobody, though, were throwing themselves into Bechers Brook bewailing the demise of the great race. Though that may have been the case in 1935 when only 27 took part with Reynoldstown winning the first of his two Grand Nationals.
The theory, evidenced in 1928 when 42 ran and only two finished, was messed with in 1947 when 57 took part and 16 finished, won by the 100/1 shot Caughoo. Incidentally, at the request of the Prime Minister, Clement Attlee, the race was run for the first time on a Saturday. Although the idea did not catch on with immediate effect, it was determined later that Clement Attlee was on to something and Saturday did indeed become the adopted and now traditional day of the week to hold the race.
In 1952, 47 ran, won by Teal, but in the years following runners dropped to 31, 29, 30, the 3-years of Vincent O’Brien domination, 29, 35, 31, 34, and only 26 when the race was first televised by the B.B.C. in 1960, with only 8 completing the race.
During the Red Rum years, the field sizes were 38, of which 17 completed, 42, of which 17 completed, 31, of which 10 completed, 32, of which 16 completed and in the most historic renewal of the race in its history 42 faced the starter in 1977, of which 11 completed.
Between 1972 and 1983 field sizes flexed between 28 and 47, with runners limited from 1984 at 40 and in that year 23 completed the course.
There is a chance this year that we might have less than 40-runners, especially if the ground is soft-to-heavy. But that will be okay. No one should lose sleep over it. Conditions of entry are the cause, with so many obvious Grand National type of horse unable to get into the race, whilst too many ‘has beens’ enabled into the race. And don’t think fewer runners equates to fewer fallers and more finishers. It doesn’t work like that at Aintree. 
Aintree is a law unto its self.