How many jockeys have been killed in the Grand National?

Tragically, the 1862 renewal of the Grand National was marred by the one and only human fatality in the history of the celebrated steeplechase. On that fateful day, debutant Joseph Wynne, whose father Denis, or ‘Denny’, had won the National on Mathew 15 years earlier, lined up on 33/1 chance O’Connell. Having raced in mid-division for much of the first circuit, O’Connell was involved in a melee at the fence immediately before the water jump, which would become ‘The Chair’ but was, at the time, a gorsed hurdle.

At that obstacle, Playman took off too soon and fell heavily, causing Willoughby to make a bad mistake, as a result of which he became unbalanced and was cannoned into, from behind, by O’Connell. Both horses came to grief, but while Willoughby rose without incident, O’Connell fell on top of the already unsconscious Wynne as he attempted to do so, crushing his jockey’s chest. Wynne was still alive when carried to the nearby Sefton Arms Inn, but died that evening with regaining cosnciousness. Aside from his physical injuries, pulmonary tuberculosis was also identified as contributing to his death.

What is Tic-Tac?

Although the use of mobile phones has rendered Tic-Tac nigh on obsolete in the modern betting ring, it is, or was, a secret sign language used by floor men, and women, to relay information about price movements to bookmakers. Traditionally, Tic-Tacs could be employed privately by bookmakers or self-employed, subject to authorisation by the National Joint Pitch Council. In either case, they would wear white gloves to make their hand and arm movements more obvious and, typically, stand on a pile of wooden crates so that they could easily be seen across a crowded betting ring.

Of course, the purpose of Tic-Tacs is to provide a service to bookmakers, not the racing public, and one of the tricks of their trade is known as a ‘Twist Card’. Tic-Tac is complex, but not so complex that it cannot be learnt by racegoers, including professional punters, so to add to the level of subtefuge, the ‘Twist Card’ contains different racecard numbers to those on the standard, publicly-available racecard. Thus, while an informed member of the public may be able to determine that a horse is attracting betting support, he or she still does not know which horse it is, at least not until the price shortens on bookmakers’ boards.

What is a ‘Listed’ race?

In British Flat racing, the highest quality races are assigned Group One, Group Two or Group Three status by the European Pattern Committee. In British National Hunt racing, the grading system is similar, but races are assigned Grade One, Grade Two or Grade Three status by the Jump Pattern Committee, under the auspices of the British Horseracing Authority (BHA).

Under both codes, ‘Listed’ status represents a step below Group Three, or Grade Three, status, in terms of quality and, therefore, a step above handicap races. Like Group or Graded races, Listed races are run off level weights, with penalties for horses that have won at a higher level and allowances for age and gender. Thus, while Listed races are not subject to any minimum requirement, in terms of official handicap rating, they are more highly regarded than handicaps, in which every horse, theoretically, has the same chance of winning. Indeed, Listed races are the lowest level at which horses can earn so-called ‘black type’ in sales catalogues.

Dozens of Listed races, under both codes, are run throughout the year in Britain. Examples include the Windsor Castle Stakes and Chesham Stakes, at Royal Ascot, the Contenders Hurdle at Sandown

and Scottish Triumph Hurdle Trial at Musselburgh, to name but a few.

Who was the first female jockey to win the Grand National?

Who was the first female jockey to win the Grand National? The first female jockey to win the Grand National was Rachael Blackmore who, on April 10, 2021, partnered Minella Times to an historic, 6½-length victory over 100/1 outsider, and stable companion, Balko Des Flos. Owned by John ‘J.P.’ McManus and trained by Henry De Bromhead, Minella Times was sent off 11/1 fourth-favourite for the celebrated steeplechase, so there was no fluke about his performance or that of his trailblazing jockey.

In a year of ‘firsts’, Blackmore had already become the first female jockey to win the Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival, on Honeysuckle, and the first female jockey to win the Holland Cooper Leading Jockey Award for the Ruby Walsh Trophy, with six winners during the week. At that stage, De Bromhead paid tribute to her, saying, ‘She’s riding out of her skin’, but little did he know what Aintree had in store for the 31-year-old Irishwoman. Previously, the closest a female jockey had come to winning the Grand National was in 2012, when the now-retired Katie Walsh, sister of Ruby, finished third, beaten 5 lengths, behind Neptune Collonges.

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