THERE ARE two respects in which horses are wiser than humans. Horses never try to ride men, and never bet on them.

Tomorrow afternoon in the Grand National, human un-wisdom will be on full display. Millions of people who barely know one end of a horse from the other will be betting on the race before watching it.

No sporting spectacle is more enthralling. But there is a reason for this. If we are honest, the principal reason why we find the Grand National so exciting is that there are always so many fallers.

Most spectators feel guilty about this. They enjoy the drama, but fear the consequences. They would be happy if the only damage to horse or jockey came in the form of hurt pride and muddy silks. Those sentimental viewers are wrong.

There could be few more exhilarating experiences than clearing the last fence at the National and realising that your horse has the will and the strength for the final charge to the winning post and victory. But part of that exhilaration must come from relief at still being in the saddle, rather than on the ground or in the ambulance. As often when courage is put to an ultimate test, tragedy is never far away.

The sentimentalists would argue that this may be acceptable for the jockeys, who know the risks that they are taking, but not for the poor horses, which cannot. That overlooks the most obvious truth about racing: the life-enhancing, noble compact between horse and man.

I have always found that those who understand horses agree on one point. You cannot force an unwilling horse to race. Especially in a contest as demanding as the National, the horse has to want to do what it is doing. The horses that run in the Grand National are lords of the animal kingdom. If they earn such a high destiny, what does it matter if there are a few casualties?

That is why I am always disappointed to read about the regular efforts to make the Grand National safer by reducing the threat from the fences. Without the threat, the race would be diminished. We do not want a pasteurised Grand National.

In order for the race to retain its glory and its terror, it is important that a horse should be killed most years and a jockey every ten years or so. The rest of us should not deplore the loss. We should salute the bravery.