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

Attendances were up across the week at Aintree and Saturday's Randox-backed Grand National produced a result which resonated beyond the confines of the sport as champion trainer Willie Mullins was reduced to tears after handing his son Patrick the winning ride on 33-1 shot Nick Rockett .

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).