Televising the Grand National is now the impossible job

Telegraph

07-04-2025

On Sunday morning, the news filtered through that Grand National faller Broadway Boy was OK, and one imagines there were some enormous sighs of relief over at ITV Sport. Televising the Grand National has become sports broadcasting's impossible job but Ed Chamberlin and company gave it a damn good go this weekend.
A large percentage of the event's viewership watches exactly one horse race a year and that poses a massive challenge because there is always a realistic prospect of an animal dying live on terrestrial TV in front of a family teatime audience. Animal Aid claims that 66 horses have been killed at the National meeting since 2000, and 16 in the showpiece race itself in that time. On the odds, then, the outsiders on the bookies' boards are more likely to die in the race than win it. Not a great vibe.
Millions of homes will have had the same reaction when Broadway Boy hit the floor head-first at fence 25: that's a goner. A sickening fall, poor thing. How are you supposed to televise that? Stay tuned after the horsey death horror-show for pranks with Stephen Mulhern or switch over to Ice Age 2, kids. As it turned out, the animal survived, amazingly. Huge numbers of people were complaining on social media that ITV did not provide enough updates but what were Chamberlin and the producers meant to do? Until the information is available, what can they say? The race replay, skilfully negotiated by Oli Bell and Ruby Walsh, skipped out that fence to some people's disapproval but, again, they are damned if they do and damned if they don't.
M'colleague Charlie Brooks argued in these pages recently that the changes made to the National 'are rapidly eroding [its unique] appeal and will destroy the popularity of the race' because 'the fences have been neutered to the point they are more of a trip hazard than a challenge', although the obstacle that defeated Broadway Boy looked challenging enough to most casual viewers.
One defers to the experts when they say that fings ain't what they used to be, so it was lucky for racing that the Mullins father-and-son story provided a much better narrative than yet another routine win for the Closutton superpower.
ITV's coverage on Saturday began with Brough Scott setting the scene and saying, don't worry about what it once was, celebrate it for what it is today. And the commentary of the race itself remains as it always has been: a complete nightmare. Could be Peter O'Sullevan, could be Richard Hoiles: speaking very fast, doing a brilliant job, but you are always at a loss as to where your one actually is.
In terms of the event, broadcasting it has never been harder.
On the one hand, animal rights people are not going to be satisfied while the race or indeed the sport exists at all. People of this persuasion do not want to hear about safer fences or having Chamberlin, Alice Plunkett and Mick Fitzgerald explain over and over that the horses get water, cooling fans and regular vet checks.
It is striking how quickly racing has pivoted from essentially putting its collective fingers in its ears and saying variations of 'you townies don't understand our ways so shut up and leave us alone', to now contorting itself into all sorts of uncomfortable shapes to convince the once-a-year viewer that the animals are treated like kings so the occasional unpleasantness is fair game.
This is sometimes taken to the point of absurdity, as with Fitzgerald saying on Saturday: 'If you are a human then you get triaged when you go to hospital and have to wait in line, no such worries for these horses, they get immediate treatment right away.' And they can get an NHS dentist appointment as well, the lucky buggers.
The biggest cringe of the meeting was definitely owner Susannah Ricci's interview with Matt Chapman on Thursday. Her record on the day: Gaelic Warrior won, Lossiemouth won, Willy De Houelle dead. Well, you win some you lose some, right Suze?
Chapman: 'I know you did lose a horse today but it has been some day.'
Ricci: 'Yes, these are the days that dreams are made of, very privileged to have two such amazing horses.'
ITV producer: *clutches head in hands*