April 11th, 2026

THE GRAND NATIONAL IS A GLAMOROUS LIE PEOPLE KEEP DRESSING UP.
Every year, the same spectacle rolls around again and somehow we’re still expected to treat it like a glamorous social occasion. The Grand National is marketed as fashion, fizz, fun, and a national day out as if that is the whole story.
But it isn’t. Because behind the champagne, the outfits, the selfies, and the Ladies Day energy, there is something far less comfortable that gets ignored. Horses are being pushed to extremes in a race where catastrophic injury is not an exception and once again a horse, just six years old, was injured and put down today.
And yet the country still shows up to celebrate it. Liverpool City Centre will be bursting with celebrations long into the night.
Why is no one disgusted? Horse racing is no better than fox hunting or cock fighting in my opinion. Using animals for human entertainment really needs to be stopped.
Fashion, hospitality tents, betting slips and overpriced corporate packages have tried to disguise the event but let's not forget what is essentially at the heart of it all: the poor animals pushed to their limits in the name of entertainment.
I personally don't like horses but I appreciate their gracefulness and beauty and power. They scare me but I don't like to see any animal being exploited.
When a horse is injured and later put down, it is reported briefly, almost clinically, and then quickly replaced by the next year’s narrative of excitement and anticipation. The discomfort is contained and then pushed out of view so the celebration can continue uninterrupted.
No one wants to say anything to avoid spoiling the fun, but I will. Shame on all of you who took a bet. You'll go home to your pets and nuzzle them with affection without giving a shit about the poor horse put down today. And you'll fool yourself into thinking that you're an animal lover. But I'll remind you again. A horse that was just six years old was euthanised today because of its injuries on the racecourse that you all cheered on.
Fuck the Grand National.

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