Following another tragic horse death at this year's annual Aintree Festival, the Mirror takes a look at the darker side of the glamorous sport, from harrowing abattoir findings to devastating suicides

The £800 horse who won the 2023 King George as well as a US Grand National (ironically, over hurdles), a Bet365 Gold Cup and Galway Plate. Snuck off to Thurles the day after Cheltenham to win a hurdle so in good form. Not the biggest, he likes decent ground. If it was a popularity contest he'd go very close.

This year's Grand National takes place at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool on Saturday, April 5. The horses are set to get under starter's orders slightly earlier than the start time of 4 p.m. BST local time in the UK (11 a.m. ET/8 a.m. PT in the US and Canada, and 1 a.m. AEST on Sunday, April 6, in Australia).