Finally, around 30 minutes after Broadway Boy fell in the Grand National, the elephant in the room was acknowledged. ITV Racing presenter Oli Bell told viewers that the horse was being assessed on the course and that a full update on his welfare would be provided when that information was available.

That was all anyone watching wanted to know. Even the biggest racing fan would have seen the race leader tumble forward, land upright on his front legs, and fall on his face and be desperate to hear only about his wellbeing. Instead, viewers were treated to triumphant words from winning jockey Patrick Mullins, a teary interview from his father and winning trainer Willie Mullins, and platitudes from pundits about how well racing has done over the welfare of its horses - without any mention of Broadway Boy or Celebre D’Allen, who had also fallen.

ITV got their coverage wrong. In moments such as this, sporting achievements and emotional father and son successes must take a backseat.

Racing has indeed done a lot to protect horses and that is commendable. Should Broadway Boy and Celebre D’Allen make full recoveries, this will be the second year in a row that no death has been recorded in the Grand National itself. While that is nothing to necessarily celebrate, it is an improvement which is the direct result of measures put in place to make this event safer.

But a discussion around improved welfare in the sport without a mention of the two fallen horses was toe-curling. It is fair that pundits, many of whom are former jockeys, want to defend a sport in which they reached the very pinnacle and which gave them the greatest moments of their lives. This, though, was not the time.

Racing still has a long way to go and actions speak louder than words. It was laughable when, earlier in the week, an Aintree representative compared racing to other sports, arguing that there is always an element of risk.

Speaking in response to the death of Willy De Houelle on Thursday, Dickon White, The Jockey Club’s Aintree & north-west regional director, told the BBC: “Equine welfare is the number one priority for us at Aintree and across The Jockey Club. We’ll continue to look at ways of making racing here at Aintree as safe as it possibly can.

“We’re not afraid to make change. We’ll review every year and look at doing that. But horseracing is like the majority of elite sports - there is an element of risk to it. We’re very sad and [send our] condolences to the Ricci family. They had great success and have also lost a horse as well.”

That is a clear false equivalence. In other sports, the ones making the decision to enter an arena where they are at risk are the participants themselves. Horses do not choose to run on inconsistent surfaces and terrains, nor jump over hurdles designed to test their strength and power. And yet the general jeopardy for racehorses is much higher.

A footballer's jeopardy is an injury from a bad tackle by another player, or missing a crucial chance. A golfer's jeopardy is driving a ball into a hazard. A horse's jeopardy is that they or their jockey can ever so slightly misjudge a hurdle and pay with their life.

For the horseracing community to fully appreciate the added scrutiny it is under, it must come to terms with that fact.

ITV finally made several references to the welfare of Broadway Boy and Celebre D’Allen and later pointed out that they would likely be off-air when an announcement on their welfare was made. Both horses received lengthy assessments on the course, delaying the next races, but walked into horse ambulances. Jockey Micheal Nolan - who rode Celebre D’Allen - was subject to an inquiry and later suspended for 10 days after he was found to have continued to ride despite his horse having no more to give.

Part of facing up to unwanted truths and learning from the past is having an open discussion. The coverage of the Grand National failed to do that immediately after the race and that shows racing still has a long way to go before it can claim to truly care about animal welfare.