Why do people bet on grey horses?
Our Ask Me Anything team look at why people choose to bet on grey horses at the Grand National despite it being rare for them to win.
[BBC] Only three grey horses have won the Grand National since it began in 1839, with a total of four victories between them. The Lamb won twice, in 1868 and 1871. Exactly 90 years passed before the next grey winner, Nicolaus Silver, in 1961.
Another 61 years went by before the next and most recent winner, Neptune Collonges, in 2012. This means a grey horse has won the Grand National on 2. 3% of occasions - so what is their appeal to betters?
Why are greys less likely to win? Neptune Collonges is the most recent grey horse to win the Grand National - one of only three greys to have ever won the race [Getty Images] The primary reason for fewer grey victories is mathematical - they are a much rarer colour than other horses, with about one in 10 carrying the grey dominant gene. Racing historian Michael Church has estimated the number of greys to have "hovered around 3%" of the total number of racehorses over the years.
Greys are actually usually born with a darker shade of coat, but progressively lose their colour over time as white hairs take over due to their genetic mutation. Unlike white horses, their skin and eyes remain dark in colour. Scientists have identified the genetic cause of a grey coat in horses, and have also found that 70-80% of grey horses that live beyond 15 years have melanomas and reduced lifespans as a result of the genetic mutation.