Like the sound of the first cuckoo, or Met office forecasts of sunshine and showers, the Grand National steeplechase at Aintree announces the arrival of spring. It’s the time of year when a third of the British population makes a flutter on whatever horse most appeals – this year Panic Attack was popular, even though her performance sadly lived up to her name. But, almost as predictable as a surge of business at the bookies is the annual outcry from protesters calling for the race to be abolished on the grounds of cruelty to horses.

I am not unsympathetic. I prefer flat-racing, where there is none of the jeopardy that comes with clearing high fences and wide ditches as a crowded field of contestants jostles for position and those unlucky jockeys who have been unseated must curl up like hedgehogs while hooves thunder over them.

Watching the Grand National, I hold my breath at each of the 30 jumps; when a horse falls, it is always a relief to see it struggle back onto its feet. Nevertheless, I never miss it, finding myself caught up in the excitement of the favourites and outside runners, but above all enjoying the spectacle of these magnificent animals flying around the course, their jockeys perched like flies on their backs.

With this year’s race taking place on the eve of the English local elections, Zack Polanski, the Green Party’s leader, took the opportunity to call, not just for the Grand National to be abolished, but the horse racing industry as a whole. Shortly afterwards, Ross Greer, co-leader of the Scottish Green Party, described horse-racing as “cruel and exploitative” and said he too would be in favour of banning the sport. “The horse racing industry does not give a damn about the welfare of........

© Herald Scotland