Devon Loch Grand National Disaster, 1956

Devon Loch Grand National Disaster, 1956. One of the most famous Grand Nationals of all time where the late Dick Francis gallops towards the finish line on HM Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother's horse, Devon Loch. Dick  is just yards away from the finish line and is undoubtedly about to win the race when Devon inexplicably jumps up and falls to his stomach. It looks as though the horse sees a fence in front of him. ESB, the horse behind, swoops past Devon Loch who is still scrambling to his feet and wins the Grand National. The Queen Mother famously said, "Oh that's racing" and Dick Francis retired from racing the following year and turned his hand to crime writing.

View the whole race here:
http://www.britishpathe.com/record.ph...

Check out the Sporting HIstory Channel:
http://www.youtube.com/sportinghistory

Check out the British Pathe YouTube Channel:
http://www.youtube.com/britishpathe

Follow us on Twitter:
@britishpathe (http://www.twitter.com/britishpathe)

Join us on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/britishpathe

All 90,000 British Pathe reels can be viewed and enjoyed on: http://www.britishpathe.com

• Category

  Sports

[ariat627]

you can see devon lochs left from foot is snapped

[ShortyTheDireWolf]

No it's not. His ankle just bent, trust me you'd have known if that horse's leg were broken. It would have a limp to em.

Still stupid that the announcer was more worried about the lost race than the horse though.

[Ciel Michaelis]

I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry at this.. It just looked so funny...

[TheGladcam]

Something happened to Devon Loch's left front when he was walking after the slip, as though the tendon had let go and he completely knuckled over, then it seemed to come good and he kept walking.....very strange......

[MrUltimateBroski]

Is it just me or did horses seem a lot faster then? Hahah that horse who fell should be called Luis Suarez now

[all4pharlap]

If Hickstead didn't show jump he wouldn't have had a heart attack. If totilas wasn't the best dressage stallion in the world he wouldn't be locked up in his stall 23 hours a day in fear of being injured. NO horse is made to do anything. A jockey is about 50kg whereas a horse is about 300kg do the math. The horse was not hurt in fact he lived untill 1963 another 7 years after this race was ran.

[Chelle P]

If the horse was not on this course, not made to run at breakneck speed and jump ridiculously high and dangerous obstacles, the horse would not have been hurt. The horse did not choose to be there and do this! Don't be so ignorant!!!

[all4pharlap]

Wow what a load of bull.

[all4pharlap]

He lived untill 1963, this race was ran in 1956. Look it up

[all4pharlap]

Look at 1:58. If that was so then why is he walking and jogging off the track. A horse can't walk let alone trot with a snapped leg.

[all4pharlap]

The horse is fine. You can clearly see him jogging away with the saddle off. A horse will not do that if they have bent,broken,hurt any part of their leg.

[all4pharlap]

The horse jumped, the rider had no control over the horses brain. Had the rider been hurting the horse he would've been thrown quicksmart. As you said their is a 'monkey on the horses back" so do you think the "monkey" can really control the 300kg horse. The jockeys weren't actually whipping the horses either, look closer and you will see one jockey is showing the whip and the winning jockey is not whipping at all.