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The 2012 Grand National (known as the John Smith's Grand National for sponsorship reasons) was the 165th annual renewal of the Grand National horse race at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England. The showpiece steeplechase, which concluded a three-day meeting which is one of only four held at Aintree throughout the year, took place on 14 April 2012. The maximum permitted field of 40 runners ran the 4 miles and 4 furlongs of Aintree's National Course featuring 30 fences, competing for record prize money of £975,000, making it the highest-valued National Hunt race in the United Kingdom. Aintree had made a number of safety changes in the months leading up to the race, following the deaths of two horses in the previous year's National. The changes included reducing the severity of some of the fences, raising the minimum age of participating horses from six to seven years old, and requiring all runners to have previously been placed in a recognised steeplechase of at least three miles. Neptune Collonges, ridden by Daryl Jacob, won the race, beating Sunnyhillboy in a photo finish and the closest ever finish to a Grand National. Neptune Collonges became only the third grey horse to win the 173-year-old chase, and the first since 1961. Joint-favourite Seabass finished third, which resulted in Katie Walsh, in her first outing in the race, scoring the best result ever for a female jockey in the Grand National. Synchronised, the 2012 Cheltenham Gold Cup winner and an early favourite for the National, and According to Pete both were euthanised after suffering leg fractures during the race. One fence was omitted on the second circuit as medics treated jockey Noel Fehily, who broke a leg in a fall on the first circuit. The race was televised live on the BBC for the last time, having broadcast every running since 1960. The rights to broadcast the next four renewals had been won by Channel 4. The BBC's relationship with the race did continue however through its live radio broadcast rights, which it had held since being first aired in 1927. ==Safety changes== In 2011, Aintree announced some modifications to the format of the race and to the National Course in time for the 2012 Grand National. The changes followed a review of the 2011 race in which two horses suffered highly publicised fatal falls. A review conducted by the racecourse authorities, and the British Horseracing Authority, in consultation with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and World Horse Welfare, recommended the following amendments to the course: *Fence 1 (fence 17 on second circuit) to be leveled out on the landing side to remove several minor contours. *Fence 4 (fence 20 on second circuit) to be rebuilt and reduced in height by two inches to 4 ft 10 in. *Becher's Brook (fence 6 on first circuit, fence 22 on second circuit) to have its drop on the landing side reduced by between four and five inches. *Height of toe-boards at the base of all fences to be increased from nine inches to 14 inches, in line with ordinary fences. Other recommendations were made to improve the safety of race participants, including: *The requirement for participating horses to have previously finished fourth or better in a recognised steeplechase of at least three miles. *The minimum age of eligible horses to be increased from six to seven years. *The creation of a new post-race washdown and cooling area. *Flexibility in shortening or removing the pre-race parade in hot weather. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「2012 Grand National」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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