Jockey Charlie Hammond says changes to the Grand National at Aintree are “for the good of the sport”.
Changes to the world famous race in Liverpool were introduced last year, in an attempt to focus on horse welfare.
The maximum number of runners was reduced from 40 to 34, and the 11th fence lowered from 5ft to 4ft 10 inches.
The first fence has also been moved 60 yards closer, reducing a rider’s speed.
Welsh Grand National Champion Charlie Hammond (pictured), who is missing the event through injury, said while some jockeys are unhappy with the changes, they are needed to sustain the sport’s popularity.
“They’ve made the start closer to the first fence, so in theory it slows you down because you’ve got less time to gain speed.
“The speed is what does the damage most of the time. To be honest, the faster you go, it’s like being in a car.
“If you fall out of it at a greater speed or you get hit by a greater speed, you tend to do a bit more damage.
“We’ve got to make changes somewhere because where our society’s going, we want to keep the sport going for as long as we can.
“Some of the lads say it’s not for the good of the sport, which it probably isn’t from our point of view, but actually for the longevity it definitely is.
“We need to because the number of people in the crowd is going down.
“We saw that at Cheltenham this year and we need to get as many people involved as we can. So we’ve got to be looking to be doing something.”
The British Horseracing Authority has admitted that racecourse attendance “remains a challenge for the industry.”
In their 2024 report, the authority stated that core meetings had seen a 7.7% decline in attendance.
This can be attributed to the presence of animal rights groups on the racecourse.
In 2023, police arrested 118 people for criminal damages and public nuisance offences, including nine protesters who entered the course.
Merseyside Police Chief Inspector Kevin Chatterton is confident it will not be disrupted this year.
“We have no direct evidence to suggest the races will be disrupted this year. With an event like this there are plenty of months of planning beforehand.
“We have a mixture of resources, both uniformed and non-uniformed throughout the day.”
The Grand National kicked off on Thursday ahead of Ladies’ Day on Friday and Grand National Day on Saturday.
(Featured pic by Alamy Images under agreed licence)
