This Grand National was an unsettling spectacle for many inside racing’s bubble

Derek Fox leads the winner, Corach Rambler, over the Chair. Fourteen horses fell at fences in this year’s race, 12 of those on the first circuit. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Observer

It has always been something of a double-edged sword that, of the 10,000 horse races in Britain each year, the only one that gets the entire nation interested is so unlike the other 9,999.

The Grand National’s extended distance, the number and nature of its fences and its 40-runner field are all unique, and have contributed to its immense popularity throughout a near 200-year history. But the characteristics that make it the most exciting and unpredictable spectacle of the racing year also ensure that it is the riskiest too for both horses and riders.